BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Friday demanded a fresh backwater study to reassess the impact of Polavaram dam on Odisha as work on the project by the Andhra Pradesh government is said to be nearing completion. The project is set to submerge many tribal-dominated villages in Malkangiri district.
Addressing a media conference in Bhubaneswar, BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, Rajya Sabha MP Subhashish Khuntia, party MLA Manohar Randhari and spokesperson Priyabrata Majhi asked the state government to register its strong protest with the Centre as the Andhra Pradesh government has changed the design of the dam project without consulting Odisha.
Further, no environmental clearance has also been accorded to the revised project, they alleged. The BJD leaders claimed that no public hearing was held in villages which face submergence because of the project. The state government had drawn the attention of the Centre to the fact when BJD was in power, they said.
“Despite continued opposition from the Odisha government, Centre lifted the stop work order on the project on August 12, 2016. Subsequently, it was announced as a national project,” they said and added that the BJD will continue to fight for the rights of the tribal people.