Chhattisgarh supplying Kelo project water to industries: BJD

Bhubaneswar, Aug 9: The 12-member BJD fact finding team today alleged that the Chhattisgarh government has been supplying water from the controversial Kelo project to industries, instead of using it for drinking and irrigation purposes.

The allegation was made by the BJD fact finding team leader and MP Prasanna Acharya. "We saw though there were pipelines spread to draw water from Kelo project, there has been no canal work. This indicated that the main purpose of the project is to feed industries," Acharya told to news channels from Chhattisgarh.

Stating that the Chhattisgarh government constructed the Kelo project without consulting the Odisha government, team member and BJD spokesman P K Deb said "We will hold meeting with Chhattisgarh government officials tomorrow. The team will be able to make a comprehensive view only after discussion with the officials of the neighbouring state."

Earlier in the day the team visited Kanakpura village in Odisha's Jharsuguda district, which was likely to be affected by the project on river Kelo, a tributary of river Mahanadi.

The team members later visited the Kelo project and talked to the local people on whether the water was used for irrigation or for industries by the Chhattisgarh government. The team would also visit the Arpa project, said Deb.

The BJD team is accompanied by three former engineers in chief of Odisha government for technical advice. The team would submit its report to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after verifying the ground zero situation, Deb added.

PTI