12 Hour Bandh In Odisha District Against Polavaram

In protest against the upcoming Polavaram Multipurpose Project in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Odisha ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has called for a 12-hour bandh in the undivided Koraput district on Monday.

Rayagada district BJD leader N Bhaskar Rao said the party is staging demonstrations in front of all Central Government offices in Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Malkangiri district headquarters.

It may be recalled that the BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, in Lok Sabha on Friday, had said the proposed irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh would submerge many parts of Malkangiri district and demanded a change in the design of the proposed dam.

“Our party is not against the project per se but is against the ‘arbitrariness’ with which the height of the dam was increased that would inundate 307 tribal villages in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The project’s design could be altered to ensure that tribals are not affected in any region,” he had argued.