Kakatpur: The Kundhei irrigation project is yet to see the light of the day even though construction work for the project started at least a decade ago.
Locals blamed official apathy, land acquisition delay and callousness of the elected representatives for the delay in execution of the project.
The state government had decided to construct the irrigation project on Prachi river near Bajapur here to irrigate farmlands coming under the jurisdiction of Kakatpur irrigation sub-division. Then Panchayati Raj Minister Raghunath Mohanty had laid the foundation stone for the project February 26, 2009. The Irrigation department had prepared an estimate of Rs 14.48 crore for the project and engaged the Odisha Construction Company (OCC) to carry out the work.
However, apart from a few pillars for the project in Prachi river no tangible progress has been made so far. “Hundreds of farmers are facing acute problems for their water scarce lands due to delay in the project. Meanwhile, the project cost has escalated to Rs 27.12 crore from Rs 14.48 crore owing to construction delay,” said a villager.
Former minister Surendra Nath Nayak has blamed the elected representatives of Kakatpur for delay in the construction work. “Foundation stone for Kundhei irrigation project was laid during my tenure. It was my dream project. The elected representatives from Kakatpur constituency have done nothing to expedite the project,” Nayak alleged.
Kakatpur irrigation sub-division executive engineer Pratap Kumar Biswal said the construction work for the project has been halted due to difficulties in land acquisition. “We have recently held discussions with the villagers in the presence of former minister Surendra Nath Nayak. We would resume the project work soon,” he said.
