Fact finding report sees flaws in Kanhar dam project

A study conducted by the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), a non-government organisation (NGO), revealed many flaws in the execution of Kanhar dam project that was revived after some four decades.The project would be coming up in the pocket straddling between Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Kanhar River, which is a tributary of the Son River that flows Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The dam hogged the headlines with recent police firing on protesters. "The project was conceived in 1976 and the Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh governments want to execute it as per the norms existed four decades ago," Alok Shukla and Sudha Bhardwaj, who headed the study team, said. A large part of both the states would be affected by the project, they added. The study conducted by the CBA said that people in Chhattisgarh had been totally kept in dark about the project by the authorities.

An Engineer of water resources department told the villagers that only 250 acres of land would be submerged that was baseless, they said, adding that a poster found in one of the villages underlined that 19 villages in Chhattisgarh would be completely submerged while eight would be partially affected by Kanhar dam project.