ROURKELA: Amid a looming pollution threat, villagers of Hemgir block have intensified protest to oppose the opening of a railway siding at Barpali for bulk coal transportation.
From February 3, villagers have resorted to indefinite agitation near the new railway siding demanding intervention of the Sundargarh district administration to thwart attempts to operationalise it.
Sundargarh MLA Jogesh Singh, who is spearheading the agitation, said attempts to operationalise the railway siding were initially made in 2018 but faced protest from villagers. When the second attempt was made, Duduka Panchayat at its gram sabha meeting in August 2021 passed a resolution opposing the railway siding citing threat to environment and accident hazards.
The MLA said it is surprising that without the mandatory approval from the gram sabha and despite threat to livelihoods of villagers and the environment, some businessmen in connivance with the railway authorities are determined to operate the siding. He alleged that around 1,000 tonne of coal was clandestinely dumped near the siding in the midnight of February 3 for rail transport.
Singh said he had raised the issue in the Odisha Assembly during the budget session and any move to help the villagers is yet to come from the BJP government or the district administration.
The Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has relocated the displaced persons of Garjanbahal, Balinga, Bankibhal and Fakarbahal at Barpali which has been designated as the model village of MCL.
Singh said for the past 25 years, one side of Barpali has been bearing the brunt of dust pollution due to uninterrupted movement of thousands of coal-carrying vehicles daily and fresh attempt is being made to open the railway siding on another side of the village to make life more miserable for villagers.
He claimed that some private transporters in connivance with railway authorities want to operate the siding to transport bulk coal from Manoharpur block of Odisha Coal and Power Ltd (OCPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state-run OPGC. From Duduka to Barpali, there is no alternate road for three km and these transporters want to use the existing PMGSY road for coal transportation, he alleged.
Villagers Kunti Naik and Anusuya Naik said the railway siding is illegal and accused the administration for not taking any step to prevent attempts to make it operational. “Once the railway siding becomes operational, we apprehend damage to agriculture land, water bodies and air pollution from coal dust. The village road would also become unsafe for villagers including schoolchildren as is the case on the other side of Barpali,” they alleged.