Keonjhar: Even as border dispute with West Bengal and illegal sand loot from Subarnarekha by the Bengal mafia in fringe areas of Balasore district are yet to be sorted out, various outfits have expressed concern over the fate of the river and the future of bordering villages on which the neighbouring state government has set its sight to occupy.
Political leaders, intellectuals, social activists, members of Utkala Sammilani (Jaleswar branch) and Mahanadi Bachao Andolan brainstormed on the issues related to the river at a workshop here Sunday.
They were unanimous on their stand that if Subarnarekha Sanskar project is executed, it will immensely benefit the river and the people in riparian pockets.
However, they slammed the state and Central governments for their callousness towards executing the ambitious river renovation project, due to which people of Odisha are deprived of an opportunity to save the river.
“Given the preset condition of Subarnarekha, its tributaries and distributaries need to be renovated so that the river can be saved. If nothing is done for the river, it will go extinct,” they stressed.
They also pointed out that if Subarnarekha dries up, the region will see ingress of sea water and agriculture will be severely affected while human habitations will face a lot of problems.
The intellectuals further stated that the West Bengal government has been trying to encroach upon fringe villages like Sahabajipur and Udaypur under Bhograi while several bordering villages of Odisha have already been made part of the neighbouring state.
They urged the administration to save these villages. Utkal Smmilani, NGOs and local people warned of an agitation in coming days if no steps in this direction are taken.
PNN