Kendrapara/Pattamundai: Hope for Brahmani-Gobari river linking project in Kendrapara district appears to be bleak with the construction of an indoor stadium on the proposed water route, a distributary of Brahmani, in Pattamundai, a report said. It is apprehended that the indoor stadium constructed on the water route will affect the agriculture in the area and prove suicidal for the farmers.
After reports surfaced, people in the area have opposed the move and started preparing for an agitation. Social activist Prafulla Kumar Dash said, “The water route is a distributary of Brahmani. It flows by Narasinghpur village and merges with Gobari river at Gandakia under Kendrapara block.” The distributary was renovated during 1866 Odisha famine (Na’anka durvikhya) and boat service was introduced in the river as part of livelihood initiative for locals.
People also used the river water for agricultural purposes as well as for daily chores, he said. The water body got buried with the passage of time, owing to the apathy of the state Water Resources (WR) department, he added. Advocate Pramod Kumar Sahu said farmers in Pattamundai, Kendrapara and Mahakalpara blocks used to draw water from this river to irrigate their farmlands. Later, the water body got buried and some influential persons encroached upon it.
Local farmers staged several agitations demanding revival of the river. Taking note of this, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone for renovation of the river at an outlay of Rs 3 crore. However, the consultancy agency abandoned the project for some reasons resulting in a cost overrun. The project cost has now reached Rs 7 crore. While uncertainty plagues the revival of the river, the construction of an indoor stadium on it has come as a shocker to scores of farmers and people dependent on it for their survival. Khirod Kumar Mallick, a local, said several agitations have been held demanding linking of Brahmani river with Gobari.
The state government is working on its revival but the construction of indoor stadium has thrown spanner in the plan. Protesting the move, Mallick, Ashok Kumar Bal and Debashis Panda have filed a complaint with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). They alleged that construction of the indoor stadium will hamper the linking of these two rivers.
Taking cognisance of the matter, NALSA has written to the district legal services authority (DLSA) seeking a report. The DLSA in turn has written to the WR department seeking a reply on the matter. When contacted, district rural development agency project director Rajendra Kumar Panda said he has not received any complaint regarding construction of an indoor stadium on the river route. He, however, assured to discuss the matter with the WR department on receipt of a complaint in this regard.
