Pro-Suktel bandh paralyses life in Balangir Friday, 31 August 2012 23:45 SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR Hits: 49

Bhubaneswar Pro-Suktel bandh paralyses life in Balangir

Pro-Suktel bandh paralyses life in Balangir

Friday, 31 August 2012 23:45

SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR

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Normal life here was affected on Friday due to a 12-hour bandh, the call for which was given by the Lower Suktel Action Committee and supported by many other organisations of the town demanding an early implementation of the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project.

And the indefinite fast by members of the Lower Suktel Action Committee entered the fifth day amidst a report that the authorities are going to start the spillway work of the project on September 27.

Shops and other business establishments remained closed and buses were off the roads during the bandh period. However, train communication was not affected. The bandh activists held picketing before different Government offices. banks and post office, which were also closed.

The Congress extended its support to the bandh. It was during the Congress Government period that the project was sanctioned. The party would launch an agitation after the Nabanna festival demanding completion of the project as well as construction of the long-proposed Balangir Medical College, said senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra told the media here.

Balangir MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, speaking to mediapersons here, said, “The Lower Suktel project is the potential lifeline of Balangir. I along with my father, Balangir MLA AU Singh Deo, have all along strived for an early commencement and completion of this project.” While extending support to all the organisations fighting for an early completion of the project, the MP expressed his surprise over the prolonged silence of the people now agitating for the project “even as the spillway work is going to be started on September 27.”

“We will oppose the Dam and Spillway construction over lower Suktel as it would submerge our land, home and forest. We are in favour of construction of small irrigation project which would cause less displacement and provide irrigation to farmers. We are carrying out our meeting in the villages, going to be submerged after constructions of this project.”

However, Budi Anchal Sangrami Parishad leader Uday Singh Thakur, when asked to comment on the reports that the administration has already started the process of acquisition of private land for construction of the project’s spillway, described the reports as not correct. A meeting of the residents of the villages to be submerged by the project is likely to be held at Gadshankar Dunguripali, 20 km from here, on Sunday, he said.

Meanwhile, several other associations, including the Chamber of Commerce, Balangir, extended their support to the bandh and participated in a rally demanding an early completion of the project.

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Govt assures work on Lower Suktel project to start from September 27 Friday, 31 August 2012 19:18 PNS.|.BHUBANESWAR

Govt assures work on Lower Suktel project to start from September 27

Friday, 31 August 2012 19:18

PNS.|.BHUBANESWAR

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Bowing to pressure from the Opposition Congress and in a bid to foil the call given by the Balangir Citizens’ Committee and the Lower Suktel Action Committee (LSAC) for Balangir bandh on Friday, the State Government on Thursday announced in the House that construction work of the already delayed Lower Suktel Irrigation Project (LSIP) would start from September 27.

However, the State Assembly during zero hour witnessed a war of words between two political heavy weights of the erstwhile Balangir royal familiy - uncle AU Singh Deo, senior vice-president of the BJD and former Minister and his nephew

Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, floor leader of the BJP and also a former Minister —  over the inordinate delay in starting work on the Lower Suktel Project which is yet see the light of the day after 11 years of  its administrative clearance.

The issue which was raised for the consecutive third day in the House since the beginning of the monsoon session with the BJP lawmaker from

Patnagarh drawing the attention of Speaker PK Amat to the indefinite hunger strike  undertaken by the LSAC demanding early establishment of the irrigation project.

Since the condition of the strikers continued to be serious and two of them were already admitted in the local hospital in critical condition, he sought the Speaker to direct the Government to make a statement in the House on the fate of the project.

He alleged that due to insensitive attitude of the Government and the local ruling party leaders, the project was getting delayed while the district has only around four per cent of irrigation coverage.

The BJP member (KV) was critical of the statement of his uncle that the State Government had been reviewing the status of the project from time to time.

He ridiculed that if the review was being done, the Government should speak out as to what was the bottleneck for starting the project.

KV was joined by the two Congress MLAs — Santosh Singh Saluja and Surendra Singh Bhoi in slamming the Government for being neglectful towards the people of Balangir. The two Congress MLAs had alleged that the project could not be taken up due to lack of interest on the part of the State Government as a result of which the project cost had escalated from the original Rs215 crore to Rs1,200 crore.

Earlier the two Congress members Singh and Singh Bhoi had staged dharana in the House on the opening day and on the second day resorted to dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Assembly premises, seeking a definite assurance from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is also the Water Resources Minister, concerning the fate of the project and a definite timeframe to start

the project.

However, former Minister and senior BJD vice-president AU Singh Deo tried to defend the Government in the political bout. Asserting that the State Government was committed to set up the project, Singh Deo in an indirect attack on his nephew and the Congress members said it was unfortunate that the entire issue was being given a political colour.

Knowing that the project would be started very soon, some

people have started agitation to defame the Government.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Speaker, who had earlier ruled that the Government would make a statement on the issue, revised his ruling, directing the Government to give a statement on the LSIP on Friday.

Anyway, in a calculated move in order to neutralise the Friday dawn-to-dusk Balangir band, Urban Development Minister Raghu Nath Mohanty made a statement on behalf the Chief Minister in the House in the evening.

Stating that the Government was committed to setting up of the LSIP, Mohanty said out of the 5,654 acres of land required for the project, so far the process for land acquisition has been competed in 1,574 acres. However, he clarified that due to opposition from some sections of people, the project was delayed.

He said as many as 5,309 families would be displaced for the proposed irrigation project. The Government had already constructed rehabilitation colony and as many as 684 families had agreed to shift to the new colony, he said.

The Minister said socio-economic survey is in process in 14 out of 29 villages coming under the project area. Mohanty announced in the House that work on the irrigation project will start from September 27.

Suktel meet in Bhubaneswar on Sept 10 Wednesday, 29 August 2012 23:35 PNS | BALANGIR Hits: 19

Bhubaneswar Suktel meet in Bhubaneswar on Sept 10

Suktel meet in Bhubaneswar on Sept 10

Wednesday, 29 August 2012 23:35

PNS | BALANGIR

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The indefinite fast by members of the Lower Suktel Action Committee here demanding implementation of the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project entered the third day on Wednesday. As the condition of a hunger-striker, Kahnu Mishra, worsened, he was shifted to hospital.

Meanwhile, the Balangir Citizens’ Committee has called a Balangir Bandh on Friday in support of the demand for implementation of the project.

Action Committee president Gopalji Panigrahi said that while no communication was received from the district administration so far, some other organisations of Balangir have come forward to support the agitation.

Balangir ADM Sadhab Minz, when contacted by The Pioneer, however, said, “Yesterday I told the leaders of Lower Suktel Action Committee that on 10th of September there will be a meeting (on the issue) in Bhubaneswar.

The process of land acquisition (for the project and payment of compensation is going on satisfactorily. The major hurdle of acquiring private land for the project is going to be over soon as its acquisition process is on. The spillway construction work is likely to take place September 27.”

43 Balangir migrant labourers back home after decades http://dailypioneer.com/templates/ja_teline_iv/images/arrow.png Wednesday, 29 August 2012 23:51

43 Balangir migrant labourers back home after decades

Wednesday, 29 August 2012 23:51

SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR

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A total of 43 migrant labourers who were living in misery and facing torture in a brick kiln in Andhra Pradesh for years were finally rescued on Tuesday.

They were rescued from a brick kiln of Indugududdm village under BDLVanoor police station in Medhak district, thanks to steps taken by Balangir SP R Prakash,  Medhak SP Abinash Mahanty, besides effort of Aide et Action and local revenue and other officials there.

These migrant labourers include 20 children, 13 female and 10 male members of eight families of Tureikela, Muribahal, Saintala, Deogaon block of Balangir district.

Bhajaram Sahu of Janamukti Anusthan, a local NGO of Muribahal and a partner of Aide et Action, raised the issue of the plight of the migrants and it was published in the Pioneer (Bhubneshwar edition) on July 11, 2012 under the caption ‘Migrants family held in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh for 3 years’.

After publication of the news, officials of the Migration Information Resource Centre (MIRC) of Aide et Action, Bhubneshwar started their search.

A team of MIRC official of Aide et Action, Bhubneshwar comprising Dayasagar Pradhan and Saroj Barik under the guidance Umi Daniel of MIRC, went to  Hyderabad and apprised Medhak SP Abinash Mohanty about thesituation.

Meanwhile, Balangir SP R Prakash, after getting complaints from Jalindra Kaliet, brother of Narenda Kaliet, a migrant labourer, wrote a letter to the Medhak SP  Abinash Mohanty to locate and rescue  these migrant labourers.

Mahanty directed his subordinates to locate these migrants and rescue them.

With support from local Mandal revenue officials, these migrants were finally located at a brick kiln in Induguddm village under BDLVanoor police station in Medhak district on August 28 and found  a total number of 43 migrant labourers  including 20children, 13 female and 10 male person who were staying in the brick kiln for decades, informed Saroj Barik. 

Among the rescued migrants, 25 migrant labourers were released under the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act of 1976 and they were given Rs 1000 each as per provisions of the Act at the destination.

The local labour official had written a letter to the Labour Commissioner of Odisha to rescue these people.

These rescued migrant labourers, accompanied by Dayasagar Pradhan of Aide ete Action, arrived at Balangir on Wednesday evening.