Lower Suktel agitation suspended after talks SUNDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2012 17:37 SUDHIR MISHRA.|.BALANGIR HITS: 43

Lower Suktel agitation suspended after talks

SUNDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2012 17:37

SUDHIR MISHRA.|.BALANGIR 

HITS: 43

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The 20-day old hunger stike and dharna by leaders of the Lower Suktel Action Committee, which is spearheading the movement for the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project in Balangir district, was temporarily suspended on Saturday night following two rounds of discussions here with the Special Secretary of the Water Resources Department.

After the Secretary finally came to the dharna site at about 10 in the night and made a fervent appeal to the agitators, promising that he would intimate their problems to the Chief Minister in writing and a mutual decision was taken to the effect that a delegation would meet the Chief Minister at Bhubaneswar to discuss on their 11-point charter of demands, the action committee leaders agreed to suspend the strike till some favourable result comes out of the proposed discussion.

Accordingly, a 10-member delegation of the action committee will meet the Chief Minister for which time is yet to be finalised. The discussion may be taken up after September 20, sources said.

President of the action committee Gopalji Panigrahi and convener Arun Mishra said resumption of the agitation depended on the outcome of the discussion with the Chief Minister.

Earlier during the day, members of the action committee on had locked the office of the district Collector, demanding that a representative of the State Government come to discuss with the committee about implementation of the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project and the related issue of rehabilitation.

The Collectorate would be locked for an indefinite period until their demand was fulfilled, members of the action committee, who had been agitating since August 27 for immediate implementation of the project, had said.

The Balangir Additional Collector as a representative of Government on Friday had suggested the agitators that the LSAC would depute a team of representatives to the office of the Secretary of the Water Resources Department for discussion about their key issues.

However, the committee had turned down the proposal saying a senior official from Government side should visit Balangir to discuss with them. It may be noted that the Government had earlier declared to begin the construction work from September 27.