Sonepur, Sept. 10: Two BJD MPs today faced the ire of people in flood-affected Sonepur town in western Orissa. The angry town residents waved black flags and gheraoed Balangir MP Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo and forced his companion, Kendrapara MP, Baijayant Panda, to beat a hasty retreat.
The residents were agitated over “neglect” by the BJD government as all of Sonepur district reeled from floods. The two MPs landed in the town after making an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of the district.
Kalikesh, scion of the Balangir royal family, was ghareoed for over an hour by residents of Tikripada in the town. Many shouted slogans asking him to go back. Some even grilled him over the controversial Sindol hydropower project asking him to make his stand clear on the issue. Following the protests, the MP skipped the other flood-affected areas of the town and headed back to the Circuit House under tight security.
Panda, the MP from Kendrapara, too came in for criticism from the residents when he and Singhdeo visited Ghodaghatpada. The people there sought to know why he was touring Sonepur when his own constituency was reeling from floods. Panda later left Singhdeo and flew back to Bhubaneswar.
Biranchi Barik, a flood-affected resident of Sonepur town, alleged that the Balangir MP was indifferent to the problems of the people.
“It’s raining now, but this area is drought prone. All this time, the MP had not found the time to visit the area. He has not made any statement yet on his stand on the proposed Sindol plan. If water from the Hirakud dam can cause this kind of devastation, imagine what the situation will be once the project comes up, as it will need three barrages. This visit of the MP is meant for political gains,” fumed Biranchi. Earlier the protesters had motivated the flood-affected people not to accept relief material from the MP.
Debaraj Mahalik, another affected person from Tariapada, was sore that the MP didn’t visit his area. “We had pinned great hopes on him but we have been disappointed. Today we expected a visit from him but it did not materialise,” said Mahalik.
Speaking to the media later, Singhdeo clarified that he was not in favour of the proposed Sindol project. “The project is not in the best interests of the people and people of the area don’t want it either. I personally feel that the government shouldn’t go ahead with the project,” he said.
