As part of their ongoing protest against the construction of the Polavaram dam project in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha ruling BJD on Wednesday called for hartal in seven southern districts on October 1.
Criticising the Centre for providing approval for the formation of a Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) “in gross violation of rules despite being aware of the fact that the matter is sub-judice in the Supreme Court”, BJD spokesperson Surjya Narayan Patro alleged that the grant of environment clearance to the project is unfortunate and exposed the step-motherly attitude of the successive Governments at the Centre towards Odisha.
Patro said that barring train and emergency services, the hartal would be organised in a full-fledged manner in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts.
Earlier on September 20, the BJD had staged dharna in front of the Collectorates in these seven districts.
Patro alleged that both the UPA and NDA Governments at the Centre have favoured Andhra Pradesh on the Polavaram issue by ignoring the interest of Odisha.
The BJD alleged that at least 15 revenue villages and 10 hamlets in Motu tehsil and 7,686 hectares of land in Malkangiri district would be submerged if the project is implemented with the present design.
The party maintained that 6,818 people including 5,916 tribals would be displaced due to the project.