Crack in Odisha’s Hirakud dam distributary, farmers worried

SAMBALPUR: Worried over a crack in Sambalpur distributary of Hirakud Dam, farmers on Thursday staged demonstration near the canal and confronted the authorities over the status of its repair.

Under the banner of Sambalpur Zilla Krushak Sangathan, the agitating farmers claimed the crack has affected the water flow in the canal. In case of disruption in water supply, hundreds of farmers depending on the distributary for irrigation will be affected.

Farmer leader Ashok Pradhan said the Sambalpur distributary of Hirakud Dam is a lifeline for farmers of around 33 villagers and it irrigates over 12,000 acre of farmland. “The crack surfaced much before and we even informed the officials concerned regarding it several times. But the authorities are carrying out temporary repair works, putting the distributary at risk.”

Pradhan further said majority of farmers depend on the ‘dalua’ paddy in rabi season as they get better produce and profits from it. If the water supply gets disrupted due to the callousness of the dam officials, farmers will suffer huge losses.

“It is unfortunate that even after being aware of the situation, department officials and the district administration have remained indifferent towards the problem. It seems they are waiting for a bigger mishap to occur. We want the dam officials to take up the repair work on a war-footing,” he added.

Chief engineer of Upper Mahanadi Basin Ananda Charan Sahoo said, “We already filled the crack with sand bags as an immediate temporary measure. We also held discussion with the farmers. As the rabi cultivation is in initial stage, we will stop the water supply for two to three days and fix the crack with concrete so that it holds up for next few months. During May-June, we will carry out complete maintenance work as per the design for long-term solution.”