Protest against allotment of Kelo river water to industries

     Raigarh, November 9, 2009: People from tribal dominated Raigarh district have protested against the allotment of water from Kelo river for industrial use.

    The activists from an organization Kelo had staged a protest in front of the office of Jayaswal Nicco yesterday protesting the agreement had between Chhattisgarh and the industry for allotment of water from Kelo river.

     Although Kelo river was the main source for drinking water and irrigation for thousands of people, the water source had become polluted over the years, said the leaders of the organization.

     When attention should have been given to clean the polluting water, the focus is more on using the water of the Kelo river for industrial use, leaving behind scores of people with a very little share of water, they said.

     They also questioned the planning of the state government, saying why it was spending huge amount of money for construction of a dam when the river water was to be given for industrial use.

     However, local officials said Kelo had sufficient flow and even if some waters are allotted for industrial use, that would not affect the flow of the river.

     According to officials, Jindal Power and Steel Limited is allotted 7.88 million cubic metre water every year, where as it had been proposed to give 10 MCM water to Jayaswal Nicco  from the Budla Anicut.