The villagers of Tilia protested the construction work initiated by the district administration for the proposed OPGC ash pound at Tilia Mouza near Ib Thermal Project on Monday.
The villagers are unhappy with the land acquisition process for the construction of the pond and also the potential pollution problems that the project can cause to villages of nearby areas.
The villagers gathered near Tilia Temple and staged a protest under the leadership of Regional Safety Committee president Giridhari Bhoi who was joined by local Sarpanch Sundar Sahu, Samiti Member Sanjaya Sahu, Samiti Secretary Muralidhar Pradhan, Zilla Parishad member Samal Naik and Youth BJP leader Raghunandan Panda. When the group proceeded to the construction site, they were stopped by Jharsuguda police due to Section 144 of CrPC imposed on the construction site.
However, Additional SP BB Patel, Sub-Collector Ajay Jena and Jharsuguda Tahasildar Bhavesh Naik met the agitators and discussed their grievances. Sub-Collector Jena explained to them that 70 per cent dues have been already paid for the ash pond and rest 30 per cent is due soon. Hence, there is no way construction cannot be stopped. He urged the agitators to file a grievance petition in case they the need to. Besides,
Brajrajnagar MlA Radharani Panda and villagers on Tuesday met Collector BB Patnaik. Panda told mediapersons that she had raised the issue with Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das and he assured her that she would speak to the agitators himself very soon.
Regional Safety Committee Secretary Muralidhar Pradhan said that if their demands are not met by the administration, they will resort to a fast onto death.