Paralakhemundi/Kashinagar: A tribunal appointed by the Supreme Court Tuesday visited Sara and Badigaon villages on the banks of river Bansadhara in Kashipur block of Gajapati district.
The tribunal led by former Supreme Court judge Mukundam Sharma and accompanied by Justice BN Chaturvedi and Pratibharani visited the affected areas of Neredi and Katragadda barrages over river Bansadhara in the district. They were accompanied by chief engineer Akshaya Banerjee of water resources department, chief engineer (retired) Arun Padhi, three lawyers representing the state government and Gajapati collector Anupam Shah.
The villagers objected to the construction of a barrage by the Andhra Pradesh Government on Bansadhara near Neradi as it would lead to drinking and irrigation water problems and submergence of several villages. They threatened not to cede an inch of land for the barrage and would resort to agitation in case of need.
The tribunal would submit its report after completing a survey of ground realities in the neighbouring state. The team also visited affected areas of Katragadda phase II project in Andhra Pradesh Monday.
The two barrages built over river Bansadhara at Katragada and Neredi by the Andhra Pradesh Government have become a major cause of concern for the people of Gajapati and Rayagada districts as the water flow in the river has come down.
River Bansadhara which originates from Lingaraj hills is one of the six major rivers of Odisha that serves as a lifeline of Kashipur block in Gajapati and Gunpur blocks of Rayagada district. The 230-km river runs 150 km in Odisha and 80 km in Andhra Pradesh before entering the Bay of Bengal at Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district of the neighbouring state.
The river’s catchment area spreads over 1,400 sq km in Orissa and 300 sq km in Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier, the special tribunal on Bansadhara water dispute granted a go-ahead to the Andhra Pradesh Government for construction of two barrages on the river.
The barrages on the river in Andhra Pradesh have shrunk the water flows into Odisha inconveniencing farmers of Gajapati and Gunpur (Rayagada district) areas.
PNN