Work on controversial Vamsadhara project resumes

Even as the dust raised over Polavaram is yet to settle down, the Andhra Pradesh government has resumed the controversial Vamsadhara Project-II at Ketragadda, a village along Odisha-Andhra border, without intimating Odisha.

Andhra government started work without intimating Odisha despite the issue being pending with the Vamsadhara water dispute tribunal. The work was stalled for the last six years, officials said.

A fact-finding team, headed by Bhabani Kant Jena, Superintending Engineer, Water Resources, Berhampur, visited the site on Friday where the construction work is being done by the Andhra Pradesh government.

The construction work of the project was started by the AP government in several places, including Ketragadda and Hiramandalam, Jena said.

"We will submit the report with photographs of the construction work to the government soon," he added.

The government had sent the fact-finding team to the site after the executive engineer, Paralakhemundi intimated it about the construction work before disposal of the case by the water dispute tribunal.

"We submitted reports to the government when they started the work on October 10," said B K Panda, executive engineer (water resources) Paralakhemundi.

Panda and retired chief engineer Arun Padhi were part of the fact-finding team.

When the Andhra government proposed to divert the river water from Katragadda to Hiramandalam reservoir under Vamsadhara Project-II some years ago, Odisha government had strongly opposed the move.