Jharsuguda: The move by the Chhattisgarh government to prevent the flow of the water of Mahanadi into the state by closing down the gates of Kalma barrage has snatched away the livelihood of inhabitants of Sukhasodha village in this district and forced them to work as migrant labourers in the neighbouring state, a report said.
A report from ground zero presents a picture of sufferings by villagers living on the fringes of both states.
The closure of the gates has stopped the free flow of water to the state and dried up the riverbed in Sukhasodha under Kandheikela panchayat of Lakhanpur block bordering Chhattisgarh.
The move has severely affected the livelihood of the villagers who earn their living mainly from cultivation and fishing. The people of Sukhasodha are forced to migrate to Chhattisgarh and work there as migrant labourers. This has come at a time when the dispute over sharing of Mahanadi water has heat up politics in both states.
However, the Chhattisgarh government has refused to respect the claim of the state over the river and has been constructing barrages to prevent the flow of its water during non-monsoon period.
The state government’s repeated reminder to the neighbouring state has failed to move the latter.
The move to close down the gates of Kalma barrage has triggered a veritable situation for migration in the villages which are on fringes of both states. This apart, the Chhattisgarh government allowing NTPC to construct a thermal power project at Lara on zero point of both states has further aggravated the situation, the villagers alleged.
Sukhasodha is one of the villages lying on the fringes of both states. It has also got another identity as it lies at the entry point of the Mahanadi into the state.
However, the riverbed has become dry due to stop in flow of river from Kalma barrage. The traditional occupations of the villagers are fishing and agriculture as the village is situated close to the riverbank.
The villagers are a worried lot now as the drying up the riverbed has prevented them from fishing while they are sore of not getting water for cultivation. “The riverbed has become dry as water stopped flowing into the state in this summer season,” a villager Ayodhya Pradhan said.
Things have come to such a pass that the villagers do not get water even to finish their daily chores while it is better not to speak of fishing in the river. Another villager Bhagatram Pandey termed the move of the Chhattisgarh government as injustice heaped on them.
“Left with no option, we have hanged up our fishing nets,” another villager Gobardhan Pandey said. Under such circumstances the villagers are forced to flee to Chhattisgarh to work as migrant labourers, Durlabh Pradhan said. PNN