The Malkangiri District Committee of the Rastriya Madhyabita Parivar Mahasangha held a dharana and protest meeting in front of the Motu tehsil demanding proper compensation and relief for the people affected by the Polavaram project. Every year when the monsoon season comes, floods occur in the entire area of Malkangiri district. Many villages and entire tehsils in the area are inundated, because of the backwaters of the Polavaram project.
When the rainy season has set in, the general public is a worried lot again, they said. “The much-awaited Indira Sagar Dam in Andhra Pradesh is a major threat to Odisha. The construction of the project is nearing completion and the Andhra Pradesh Government has started testing it on June 12. Due to the closure of all the gates in Sagar dam, about 50 km from the Polavaram project to Kunavaram, the backwaters could not be drained. Malkangiri district is only 30 km from Kunavaram. Polavaram's backwaters have already reached about 30 km,” said Rastriya Madhyabita Paribar Mahasangha president Pradeep Mishra. Mishra further stated that while the Andhra Pradesh Government has taken precautionary measures to protect and rehabilitate the people of Kunavaram area, as well as the Konta area of Chhattisgarh, which were affected by the backwaters, the Odisha Government has not taken any steps to compensate the affected villagers of Malkangiri district, including Motu under the Kalimela block.
Mishra urged the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to immediately intervene in the matter and provide due compensation to the villagers affected by flooding.