Today is the 66th Foundation Day of Hirakud Dam

The foundation stone of the Hirakud Multipurpose Dam Project was laid on March 15, 1947. On April 14, 1947 the first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, inaugurate the concrete work. The world’s longest dam was inaugurated on January 13, 1957.

It has been 65 years since the Hirakud Dam was established. Thursday is its 66th foundation day. Although 70 years have passed since the loss of house for Hirakud, most families still have not received compensation. The displaced people did not have a piece of land or compensation. According to records, 218 villages were submerged and 22,000 families were displaced due to the construction of the dam and the expansion of the reservoir, with more than 200 monasteries and temples losing their existence.

However, according to the Hirakud Displaced Welfare Committee, 369 villages and 1.5 lakh acres of land were submerged for Hirakud. 26,501 families were displaced. Now those families are divided into one million families. After a long battle with displacement, it was ordered in 2002 to provide 10 decimal houses per household. But so far only 2,000 families have been getting the land for a house, according to official figures.