By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: Life came to a standstill in Odisha’s Bolangir town Friday during a shutdown called by residents as they intensified their agitation seeking revival of an irrigation project in the region, police said.
Most government and private establishments and educational institutions were shut.
“The protest was total and peaceful”, a senior police official told IANS.
According to a plan conceived in the early 1990s, a dam was to be built on the Suktel River in the district of Bolangir to provide irrigation facilities to drought prone areas of Nuapada, Bolangir and Sonepur in western parts of the state.
The state government claimed the project was delayed due to land acquisition problems. The estimated cost of the project has shot up to Rs.1,040 crore from Rs.217 crore.
The state government announced that work on the project will start next month.
The issue also was raised in the ongoing monsoon session of the state assembly.
“Some people are doing politics. When the government has announced it will start work, why are the people opposing it?” Biju Janata Dal MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo said.