The ‘Save Budhabalanga river water’ campaign has received a boost as eminent social and organic farming activist Dr Vandana Shiva has extended her full support to the movement.
Attending a meeting held here on Tuesday evening, she termed the use of river water for industrial purpose as ‘stealing’ and users as thieves.
“Don’t let the river water be used for industries. Expose the thieves. We can’t allow parts of Odisha like Balaswar and Mayurbhanj to become Marthwada and latur that faced earthquakes due to over drawing of river water. These areas of Odisha are vulnerable to earthquakes and landslides as the under earth plates are weak in the region,” said Shiva.
The campaign, which began about six months ago, has already been attended by eminent social and environmental activists like Medha Patekar, Rajinder Singh and Ranjan Panda.
“We had taken up a movement to save Ganga and, under the campaign, a rally was taken out from Gangotri to Gangasagar. In order to sane river Budhabalanga, we will take out similar rally from Simlipal (the emerging point of the river) to Balramgadi (the confluence point with sea),” she said.
She demanded that panchayats be given power to decide whether to give water to industries or not. She also wanted that young mass and students be consulted for the purpose.
“This soil has witnessed bigger movements like anti-NTR and anti-Posco protests in recent times and Baleswar had been associated with salt movements in which many people sacrificed their lives at Inchudi,” she reminded.
She said a save water and river movement would begin next year from North India and culminate at Baleswar with a demand to stop use of Budhabalanga river on April 17, 2017, coinciding the centenary of Champaran (Bihar) movement. She said the civil society should write to the CAG for audit of the project.
Among others, Navdanya director Dr Vinod Bhatt, Prof Ashok Panigrahi, Senior Citizen Forum coordinator laxmidhar Behera, Bar Association secretary Manoj Nayak, trade union activist Jayant Das, Dr Debendra Panda, Pratap Nayak and Gouranga Panigrahi spoke.