RESENTMENT BREWS AMONG LOWER INDRA PROJECT-HIT

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RESENTMENT BREWS AMONG LOWER INDRA PROJECT-HIT

Tuesday, 18 June 2013 | AJIT PANDA | NUAPADA | in Bhopal
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The basic livelihood facilities have been withdrawn from most our villages since 2009. The Government has not provided us full compensation and rehabilitation although we extended active cooperation for the construction of the Lower Indra Irrigation Project (LIIP). When we are now fighting for our rights, the administration is threatening us of legal action, say the displaced persons of LIIP at a Press conference at Khariar on Sunday.
The Lower Indra Bistapit Sahayata Samiti (LIBSS), which is the frontline organisation of the project affected persons (PAP), had been on a strike since December 9 last. They had erected a brick wall on the entrance of the project. The project authority has demolished the wall two days ago in the presence of the police and lodged a FIR against 15 unknown persons of the LIBSS under various Sections of the IPC besides Section 3 of the Prohibition of Destruction of Public Properties Act and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
"The demands of the PAP are genuine. The administration has closed all the health and nutrition services in the project affected villages since 2009, showing that the village has been fully evacuated. The frontline health and nutrition service providers like ASHA, AWW and ANM have also been removed. The people, especially the women and the children of Kalimati village, are the worst suffers. 34 children below the age of 3 years of the village are deprived of their right to food and nutrition due to the withdrawal of the Anganwadi centres. There are still 70 households living here waiting for their compensations and rehabilitation assistance," informs Sarada Panda, legal adviser of the LIBSS.
Laxmi Majhi of Kalimati village was very much weak during her pregnancy but did not get any supplementary nutrition as the AWC was withdrawn. She delivered a child at home because she could not get support of the ASHA or the nearby health centre. "The ANM said that the services have been withdrawn from our village and she would not give any service to me," said Laxmi. Dahane Chinda, Anale Majhi, Basanti Chinda and many other mothers with their children have been deprived of the benefits due to the apathy of the administration.
Srimati Majhi is a tribal widow having two children, one of which is blind. She has been suffering from disease since long, but is unable to get treatment. She spent the assistance in the treatment of her husband who died two years ago. She has bought some lands in the village Bagbahal of Boden block, but is unable to construct a house as she is now penniless.
Ugre Chinda is the tribal priest of the village. He is unable to move to his new destination as he spent all his money for purchasing land. "I am not able to construct a house in Amerha where I have bought a land," he says. "The project authority has not yet constructed a 'Gudi Ghar' (temple) for my deity in the new village. I have to take my god with me," adds Ugre. The new Gudi Ghar constructed at Amehra for Ugre's deity has not been done according to the cultural belief of the community. Gudi Ghar of the deities of Jhalkusum and Lambipani village have also not yet been constructed, where as the project authority has constructed a big temple at Khariar town utilizing the periphery development fund of the project, which should have been utilized for the peripheral development of the displaced persons.
Hundreds of displaced persons are yet to construct their houses in their new destinations as they have exhausted all their money for purchasing lands, which skyrocketed after the starting of the project.
The LIBSS has complained that the Government is even not considering the demands of the PAP to restore the supply of BPL rice to them which has been stopped since 2007. There are many such demands which could have been fulfilled through appropriate action of the administration, but they are lying unheard of.
The LIBSS claims that the Government has not paid proper compensationto the PAP. "Valuation of our land has been done on the basis of sale deed of non affected villages, which is totally wrong. Now the Sub-Judge Court of Nuapada has given a direction to the LIIP to pay Rs1 lakh for Bahal. Likewise, the price of homestead and up land has been fixed by the court at Rs 3 lakh and Rs 80,000, respectively. The project authority has paid Rs 1.5 lakh for homestead and Rs 15, 889 for up land," said Jayram Majhi of Kalimati village.
"We will not leave the village if our demands are not fulfilled," say the villagers. "We have now decided to start a "back to village" campaign. All the PAPs will go back to their respective villages to resume their previous lives," said LIBSS secretary Nitya Pradhan.

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