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Orissa ryots hold rally

Special Correspondent

Bhubaneswar: Thousands of farmers from different parts of Orissa held a rally here on Friday urging the State Government not to provide water from reservoirs and canals to upcoming mineral-based industries and thermal powers plants.

They demanded that the government not commit to allow new industries to take water from the Hirakud reservoir, as it would affect irrigation. Gathered under the banner of the Orissa unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, they also said that assurances given on water supply from the Taladanda canal to Posco-India's proposed steel plant must be withdrawn.

In a memorandum to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, they wanted distress sale of paddy checked and the policy encouraging contract farming dropped.

More than 20,000 farmers formed a chain, along an 18 km stretch, in Sambalpur district on Thursday afternoon to protest against the increasing diversion of water to industries.

They alleged that the decision to provide water to industries was a conspiracy by multi-national and national companies to destroy the State's "rice bowl" and render jobless lakhs of farmers.

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