ANDHRA PRADESH GOES AHEAD WITH MAHENDRA TANAYA PROJECT
Jibanendra Mahanty
Dear All,
Once again the Government of Andhra Pradesh has ignored the concern of people of Orissa and is unilaterally proceeding with the Construction of a Sluice Dam and a Reservoir to take off water from Mahendra Tanaya River near the Orissa border. The proposed Dam will affect the availability of Water for Drinking and Agriculture to several villages in the Gajapati district of Orissa.
It is surprising that the Chief Minister of AP even ignored the concern of the Chief Minister of Orissa and went ahead in laying the foundation stone of the Project on the 4th April 2008.
About a year ago, we had discussed about AP's high handedness in implementing several several Inter State River Projects at the border of Orissa, which will not only submerge large tracts including villages in Orissa but also affect availability of Water for people of Orissa.
Unfortunately our State Government has failed to foresee the agenda of our smart neighbour and to take preemptive steps to counter the plans and designs of a bad Neighbour. Thus there is an urgent need to conduct surveys of all Inter State Rivers at the border with AP and implement Irrigation and Hydel Projects at the up streams within our State, on top most priority, to deny water supply to AP from Orissa catchments, on 'Tit for Tat' basis. The State Government should also constitute a dedicated Project Authority for speedy implementation of these Projects.
Thanks,
J.N.Mahanty
Coolhotmail : Board of the same old Email ID’s? Get a unique one here. Try it now!
Manoj Padhi
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=198406
Orissa gears up to face Andhra
Statesman News Service
PARALAKHEMUNDI, April 6: Trying to counter neighbouring Andhra Pradesh
government's water projects over the inter-state rivers, Orissa
government is on a fast forward mode is planning two barrages. The
technical committee is to meet tomorrow and feasibility report will be
ready within a week.
But are these all a knee-jerk reaction ? Is the government serious ?.
Such questions are bound to be asked given the track record of the
government over such issues. the seriousness of the state government in
tackling the river issues can be gauged from the problems that have
been in cold storage , while on the other hand the Andhra Pradesh
government continues with its efforts of using the water resources of
Orissa.
Debating in the Assembly recently former chief minister Mr JB Patnaik
had cited several project proposals which has been hanging fire for
years. "The government here is busy making announcements whereas the
Andhra Pradesh government is busy working", he had remarked. The
urgency and gravity of the situation even prompted a ruling BJP MLA Mr
Bharat Paik to implore upon the CM Mr Naveen Patnaik to rush and lay
foundation stone for proposed projects over Mahendra-taneya before his
Andhra Pradesh counterpart does so across the border.
Instead of the usual counter charge by asking the Opposition what had
been done when the Congress was in power , Mr Paik had delivered a very
positive speech. The alleged unilateral construction work across the
border in Andhra Pradesh is not new either. A couple of years ago
during 2005-2006 the unilateral construction of spurs by the Srikakulam
administration along the banks of the the Vamsadhara river was a topic
of discussion and even at that point of time the Orissa CM Mr Naveen
Patnaik had sent letters and a delegation of officials to stall the
work.
The issue was debated in the Assembly and the Opposition leaders had
even visited the site to make an on the spot assessment .But the spurs
were constructed and the necessary diversion of the Vamsadhara river
water is taking place irrigating cultivable land of Andhra Pradesh
while villages along the river on Orissa side have been facing floods.
Similarly the Vamsadhara Stage II Water reservoir project of Andhra
Pradesh government for taping the river water at Kataragada was again
the centre of controversy with the Orissa government promising one and
all that the said project will not take off .
CM Mr Patnaik again wrote letters to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart,
and a high delegation team was sent to Hyderabad to sort out the issue
amicably. But as this proved futile, the Orissa government approached
the Central Water Commission(CWC) and then the Supreme Court. While the
stay stopped the Andhra Pradesh irrigation department from further
constructions on the Vamsadhara River , certain project related
activity continues unhindered .A visit to the Kataragada village ,about
40 km from here, near the Hiram-anadalam Mandalam of the Srikakulam
district reveals how hundreds of trucks and laborers were engaged in
project related works.
It also reflects AP government's confidence in overcoming the legal
hurdle. The project has become a prestige issue for the Andhra Pradesh
revenue minister Mr Dharamana Prasad Rao who hails from the Srikakulam
district . Mr Rao has reportedly been telling his party workers and
people of his constituency that both the projects will be completed and
thousands of farmers will be benefited.
Besides these two contentious projects , the track record, as far as
the issue of alleged encroachment of the Andhra Pradesh irrigation
department in constructing a embankment on the Abhilima Mouja in Orissa
along the Vamsadhara River has also been raised and then forgotten. The
Gajapati district administration was in the dark till a local
organisation Utkal Hitasini Samaj raised the alleged encroachment issue
and submitted a memorandum. "The fault is of the state government and
the administration who are simply not serious to the river water issues
. How can the Andhra Pradesh government construct dams or reservoir or
spurs when the major stretch of the river flows through Orissa? Today's
issues are a result of lack of foresight and political maturity , and
issuing statements through Press or writing letters is to divert the
attention from the real subject" said the convener of the
Mahendrataneya Surkhya Manch Mr Purna Chandra Mohapatra, who has been
leading the latest agitation against the Andhra Pradesh government's
offshore project over the Mahendrataneya river
Manoj Padhi
Jibanendra Mahanty
Dear All,
Today Orissa Chief Minister laid the Foundation Stone for the construction of a Barrage across the Mahendra Tanaya River ( upstream of AP Site) in Gajapati District. The Project is to be completed within one year and will provide water for Irrigation and also for the Parlakhemundi Town.
This is certainly a timely and bold step, taken by the Chief Minister to counter the Dadagiri of AP.
Let us hope that the Project is executed properly and timely to deliver the desired results to the People of Gajapati District.
J.N.Mahanty
From: jn...@hotmail.com
To: oriss...@googlegroups.com
Subject: OTN: ANDHRA PRADESH GOES AHEAD WITH MAHENDRA TANAYA PROJECT
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 22:59:00 +0530