Tribal organisations are keeping an anxious eye on the new Government led by a tribal Chief Minister as to how it handles and tackles the issue of renovation of the four-decade-old Mandal dam.
President of the Kutku Doob Chhetra Sangharsh Samiti Pratap Tirkey said “We are not against the repair or renovation of the Mandal dam, but our demands should be met before any work begins here.”
Listing his demands, Tirkey said, “First is one time settlement of compensation. Rehabilitation of 15 villages facing threat of submergence should be done. Second demand is to give the displaced all infrastructural facilities like roads, drinking water, medical assistance, education, PDS shops, electricity etc.”
The concerned department identifies only 6 villages susceptible to flooding if four gates are installed at this dam. The height of the dam is 341 meters. Tirkey said, “I know that irrigation department has identified only six villages that may get submerged, but let them assure that the remaining 9 villages will not face any problem on account of this dam.”
Tirkey said the submergence and displacement will affect more than 90 per cent population of the tribal which is no minor issue at all.
He said, “We have heard that State Government is planning to send troops in large numbers at Mandal dam site for the start of work by the executing agency Webcos. We will not allow any such re building of this dam under the shadow of the guns.”
He said, “We tribal do not want any confrontation but if it is imposed upon us then tribal know how to deal with such a situation.”
Police sources in Latehar district as Mandal dam comes under Latehar district said “It is really a big challenge to start work on the dam.”
Police sources admitted that tribal men, women and children had squatted for days together on the road to Mandal dam soon after PM Narendra Modi’s re-launching of this dam on January 5 last year from the Chiyanki air strip.
Sources said the tribal then had even stopped newsmen from visiting the dam. Sources said same resistance is in store among the tribal over this dam now.
A police officer begging for anonymity said there is bound to be elaborate security cover for workers, officials engaged in the repair or renovation of this dam as hurdles are bound to come from the people who are to face submergence and displacement.
Sources said there has been an episode where irate people had detained three personnel of the executing agency of the construction company drafted for this dam last year.
Another tribal organisation Adivasi Senegal Andolan’s head Victor Kerketta told this newspaper that the Government must first do concrete things for resettlement of people of those villages who are going to be displaced before doing anything for the dam.
Kerketta further said the government officials must sit with villagers, hear them and solve their fears and doubts.
Kerketta and Tirkey both demanded that hundreds of tribal families who are living since decades on korkar and gair majrua land be given lagan receipts which only will legalize their right of possession of these two types of land.
Chatra BJP MP Sunil Singh is sanguine that people will realize the benefits of this dam on its operation.PM has set a deadline of 2020 for this dam to be all operational.