Senior BJP leader and former Assembly Deputy Speaker Rama Chandra Panda met Union Minister of Water Resources Uma Bharti in New Delhi recently and submitted a memorandum demanding completion of two river-linking projects such as Rushikulya-Mahanadi and Rushikulya-Bansadhara in the greater interest of the farmers and the public in the State.
Though there has been a consistent demand made by the public and the farmers of south Odisha since 1986 to protect Rushikulya from getting dried, but the successive Governments at the Centre unfortunately did not pay heed to it, the memorandum said.
It may be mentioned that Rushikulya Banchao Manch, a voluntary body of farmers and senior citizens, which spearheaded the river linking movement in the district led by Panda had taken out a massive rally known as “Jala Yatra” with thousands of men and women from Kasinagar to the Raj Bhavan in 2010.
Over the last two decades in particular, Rushikullya remains dried nearly for six months in a year causing serious drinking water crisis and affecting vegetable crops on
the bank.
As a result, thousands of farmers and cattle who solely depend on the water of the river have been hit hard. The riverside villagers are also facing an acute scarcity of drinking water in the region, the memorandum added.
Even though, the National Water Resources Commission, after a preliminary feasibility survey, had reportedly given its opinion in favour of linking Mahanadi-Rushikullya and Mahanadi-Bansadhara rivers since long, but no tangible progress has yet been made in this direction, Panda pointed out, urging the Union Water Resources Minister to take necessary steps to expedite the two river-linking projects in the State soon.