CPI demands all party meet on flood situation

Bhubaneswar, Sep 27: The Orissa CPI on Saturday, Sep 27 demanded that all party meetings be immediately convened in the state to discuss the rehabilitation and reconstruction work for the flood-affected people of the state.

CPI state Assistant Secretary Ashish Kanungo said the party's state secretariat meeting, held here today, expressed concern over the government's failure to provide relief to the affected people in many areas.

Describing the flood in the Mahanadi river system as ''man made'', the party demanded that the Water Resources Minister and the Secretary be arrested and criminal cases instituted against them for pushing five million people in the state to suffer in the flood.

Mr Kanungo said release of water from the Hirakud Dam was not followed as per the prescribed guideline and as a result the Mahanadi river system witnessed high flood, causing havoc in 18 districts destroying crop over lakhs of hectares of agricultural land.

The party, he said, sought a clarification from the government as to why the water level in the Hirakud Dam was allowed to keep till 627 feet and all the gates of Hirakud Dam were opened at one go resulting in high flood in the Mahanadi delta.

UNI