Odisha farmers protest move to allow Posco to draw water from rivulet

Reported by Vishwanath Kumar
Jagatsinghpur, Jine 21:

Opposing the government’s clearance to Posco steel project for drawing water from Hansua rivulet,farmers in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur ditrict today staged a demonstration at the district collectorate here.

Under the banner of Hansua Bachao Sangram Samiti, the protesting farmers alleged that the government is toeing a corporate-friendly line while ignoring the larger interests of thousands of farmers in the region.

Farmers in Tirtol, Raghunathpur, Erasama, Biridi and KUjang areas depend on Hansua rivulet for farming activity. If the water from the rivulet is diverted for the Posco project, the farmers would have to bear the brunt and 50,000 acre of farmland would turn unproductive, spokesman of the Samiti, Sashi Bhusan Bhuyan said.

“Iron and steel industries are water-guzzling ventures. It will swallow all the water from the rivulet leaving nothing for farming activities,” an agitating farmer said.

The agitation would be further intensified in the coming days to force the government to withdraw the decision to rnedallow Posco to draw water from Hansua because is detrimental to the interest of farmers, the Samiti leaders warned.