By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Hundreds of farmers have built a brick wall in Sambalpur district in Orissa to prevent use of Hirakud dam water for industrial purposes, a farmers’ leader said Monday.
Farmers under the banner of Paschim Orissa Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti (POKSSS) Sunday constructed a 15-ft long and five-ft high wall near Jamadarpali airstrip located close to Hirakud dam, some 300 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, POKSSS leader Lingaraj told IANS.
The wall, which the leader described as “chasi rekha” (farmer’s line), has been built near the pipes Vedanta Resources plc has constructed to draw water from the dam for its plant in Jharsuguda district.
Vedanta is building a $2.1-billion greenfield aluminium smelter plant together with an associated 1,215 MW captive thermal power plant at Jharsuguda.
The company will draw at least 172 cusec of water per day from the dam, which could provide irrigation to at least 17,200 acres, Lingaraj said.
Hirakud Dam was built across the Mahanadi River about 15 km from Sambalpur in 1956. At 25.8 km, it is one of the longest dams in the world.
The main purpose of the dam was to provide irrigation, generate electricity, provide livelihoods to fishermen and manage floods.
But the state government is now breaching its commitment, Lingaraj alleged. “The state government is already diverting irrigation water from the dam to at least eight industries,” he said.
As a result, more than 50,000 farmers in the command area do not get water for their farms, he said.
The government had decided to divert more water from the dam for mega industries in the region in the coming days, he alleged, adding that would deprive more farmers of water.
The state government has already permitted 20 more industries to draw at least 348.755 cusec of water in the coming days, he alleged.
“We will not allow any industry to use the dam water for industrial purposes,” he said.
“The wall we have built is to stop Vedanta from drawing dam water. The fight is not against Vedanta alone but also against all upcoming industries that are planning to draw water from the dam,” he added.
More than a dozen people were injured last week when police baton charged thousands of farmers attempting to enter a prohibited area of Hirakud dam while protesting the alleged diversion of irrigation water to industries.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered a probe into the police action and had announced that his government would not divert irrigation water from the dam for industrial purposes.