We have to protect rivers, says Medha
Berhampur: The State government's proposal to construct a dam at Pipalapanka in Sorada block of Ganjam district on the banks of Rushikulya river faced resistance from environmentalists and civil society leaders. Environmental activist Medha Patkar lent her support to Rushikulya Banchao Kriyanusthan Committee and Centre for Climate Justice during a public gathering at Potalampur near Chhatrapur. 'When rivers die, civilisations crumble,' she said, urging women and grassroots workers to stand as sentinels of nature. 'Let no river be chained without the people's consent,' she said, pressing for stronger laws to safeguard natural resources. 'Rivers may be small or big, but they are our mother.
We have to protect the rivers from attacks,' Medha said. The proposed Pipalapanka reservoir, estimated to cost Rs 1,035 crore, is yet to obtain forest clearance. Opponents allege that the project is tailored to benefit corporate behemoths at the cost of community and ecology. 'No corporate agenda can override people's rights over nature,' asserted Abani Gaya and Gagan Chandra Mallick during a joint rally organised by All India Kheta Mazdoor Kisan Sabha and Manab Adhikar Surakhya Manch in Berhampur. A memorandum opposing the dam was submitted to the Chief Minister through the RDC of the Southern Division. On the other hand, senior BJP leaders, including former deputy speaker Ram Chandra Panda and BJP panel spokesperson T Gopi, favoured the construction of the dam.
They hailed it as a transformative step to harness Rushikulya's monsoon bounty and argued that such development is essential to irrigate over 3,000 hectares and quench the thirst of Berhampur, Aska, Purushottampur and adjoining towns. 'Opposition to this project is anti-people and anti-progress,' they stated, recalling the colonial and post-independence legacy of water projects like Sorada, Janibili and Baghua that shaped the agrarian prosperity of the region. But amid the debate, one truth resonates—the Rushikulya river, born in the misty heights of Daringbadi and flowing into the Bay of Bengal at Puruna Bandha, is gasping for breath. With five dry months a year, vanishing forest cover and erratic rains, the river now finds itself at the crossroads of policy, politics and preservation.
As the battle between development and dissent intensifies, the voice of Rushikulya rises—not in words, but in whispers through her parched beds and fractured flow, awaiting a future where justice and sustainability may finally find a confluence.
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