Lower Suktel: Kumiapali villagers resist eviction

Balangir: The district administration’s attempt to begin relocating families from Kumiapali village, affected by the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project, failed Tuesday after residents staged a peaceful protest, refusing to leave their ancestral land. The administration deployed nine platoons of police, accompanied by a magistrate, to the village in the morning to carry out the relocation exercise.

However, tribal residents and other villagers gathered at the Ramji Mandap and staged a sit-in, preventing officials from relocating any family. Men, women and children joined the protest, carrying traditional weapons, including bows and arrows, swords and other ceremonial arms, along with placards. Earlier in the day, tribal residents performed customary rituals and offered prayers to the weapons before taking a pledge not to leave the village until their demands were met. The tehsildar, officials of the Lower Suktel project, police personnel and other administrative officers remained in the village with JCB excavators until about 5pm but failed to relocate a single family.

The protesters continued their sit-in throughout the day, refusing to budge and reiterating their resolve to resist displacement peacefully. Residents said the village’s 84 tribal families would not leave their homes until the government ensured adequate compensation and proper rehabilitation. They alleged that attempting to evict tribal families during the monsoon without addressing their concerns was unjust and also objected to the deployment of police for the exercise. The villagers, led by Rama Chandra Bariha, Dolamani Bariha and Dambarudhar Bariha, urged the administration to fulfil its rehabilitation commitments before initiating relocation. Officials held discussions with the protesters, but the talks ended without a breakthrough. Meanwhile, continuous heavy rainfall in the upper catchment of the Lower Suktel project has caused the reservoir’s water level to rise rapidly to nearly 199 metres.

Officials said water could enter Kumiapali village if the level reaches 200 metres, increasing the urgency of the relocation. Security arrangements remained in place, with police deployed across the village to maintain law and order. Chief Construction Engineer Surendra Bhoi said the villagers had conveyed their demands to the administration. He said officials would return Wednesday to resume talks in an effort to secure a peaceful relocation.