large numbers of displaced families stalled the dredging work for the project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) at Tantighai village under Bari block of Jajpur district on Sunday claiming compensation.
Notably, the inland water transport (IWT) project would link Kalinganagar industrial area, Paradip Port, Dhamara Port and Talcher.
“It is illegal on the part of the company’s authorities to start the dredging work on the Tantighai river, the tributary of Kharosotra river, and construction of a vessel terminal at Earada village without paying compensation to the land owners,” said a displaced villager.
Around 120 villagers have their land near the river for which it is the first and foremost duty of the officials to pay compensation amount before starting any work, said Debendra Samal of Tantighai.
The State is estimated to have nearly 500 km of navigable inland waterways even though the exploitation of the sector has remained neglected, said an official of the IWAI. The district administration should solve the land acquisition problem soon for the dredging of the Tantighai river, he added.
When asked, Jajpur Sub-Collector Maheswar Panigrahi said, “We will provide compensation to the land owners before acquisition”.