The villagers of three gram panchayats have strongly demanded for revival of a coastal canal, a British time waterway, which was dug during worst famine of the 19th century.
The residents of Jaydevkasaba, Bardhanpur and Saragaon assembling on Sunday stated that the revival of the canal would pave the way for social and economic development for a population of about 30,000 living in at least 12 gram panchayats namely Chandipur, Hidigaon, Srikona, Tundra, Rasalpur, Inchudi, Srijang and Padampur. They warned to take to the streets if the needful was not done by the State Government. They said that though they had been demanding the renovation of the canal since long, the Government had lent a deaf ear to it.