BALASORE: Hundreds of angry farmers of five panchayats in Balasore district on Wednesday demolished a check dam on Naupal rivulet for free flow of flood water of the Budhabalanga river. Even as one platoon of police force was deployed to man the check dam, the infuriated farmers forcibly pull downed the concrete structure, built at Kesharpur, in two hours. They alleged water-logging due to the check dam damaged paddy seedlings and saplings on more than 2,400 acres. Farmers of around 20 villages under Nagram, Odangi, Buanla, Sindhia and Olanda panchayats have been suffering due to the dam. A farmer Animesh Senapati said for the past 12 years they had been facing floods in river Budhabalanga due to this check dam. He pointed out that though the structure had to be constructed near Belda, it was built near Kesharpur causing widespread damage. “Had it been constructed at Belda, the flood water would have been easily drained out. Due to lack of foresight of the irrigation officials, every year we are facing untold miseries,” he lamented. Some farmers alleged that though every year they demolish the dam after floods, the irrigation officials either re-construct or repair it spending lakhs of rupees. It is alleged that in the process they have drained out more than ` 50 lakh in the last 15 years. Though the villagers have appealed to the district administration, local MLA, MP, minister and authorities of the irrigation department time and again, no tangible step has been taken. Sources said the last time the dam was built in 2007 at a cost of ` 8 lakh. When it caused water-logging again, the farmers had demolished a part of it in 2008 and later it was repaired. Meanwhile, District Collector in-charge Sribatsa Jena has ordered a probe. “I have asked the executive engineer of the Irrigation Department to submit a report about the construction and repair of the check dam and why was it diverted from its proposed place,” he added.
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