The Pioneer, May 23, 2009
PNS | Bhubaneswar
The people of Kalahandi district had high hopes from the Indravati project. But though the project has proved to be a boon for some for some others it is proving to be a curse. In last 10 years, 40 people have perished in boat mishaps but still the administration remains nonchalant.
On Sunday a boat capsized in the Indravati reservoir. Two bodies have been recovered but one person is still missing since last five days. The locals say this is not the first incident. It has happened many times before but the administration is not taking any steps. The project, having a radius of 110 km, started in 1977 and was completed in 1992, is successful but for 36 villages of Kalahandi and Koraput district it has proved to be a nightmare.
For the 15,000 inhabitants of Maligaon, Adri and Gopinathpur the project has brought only misery. In 2008, at Maligaon’s Dgaribandhi, Fukigala and Chepataghata, eight persons were killed in boat mishaps. In 2007, in Kanasukuli one person was killed. In 2006 at Gopinathpur’s Brahamanichanchara, Talanegi and Tamara village’s five persons were killed in accidents.
In 2005, at Gopinathpur’s Bariguda two persons were killed. In 2004, 17 persons of Kupujimali village of Maligaon panchayat died in a boat mishap which triggered shockwaves in the State. For the local people, they have cross the reservoir for their daily needs which often proves fatal for them. The locals demanded that as the driver of the motor boat provided for transportation is unavailable most of the time, the locals are dependant on country boats. Administration should make suitable arrangements for the locals.
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