Lower Suktel Dam evictions spark protests and temple displacement in Odisha

Three years after the Lower Suktel Dam project submerged Sanatelenpali village in Odisha’s Balangir district, the presiding deity, Lord Jagannath, remains in a temporary shelter while villagers await a permanent temple and compensation.

On Wednesday, district authorities resumed the eviction of Tabalbanji village, demolishing homes after police removed women who had been staging a sit‑in protest. Residents say the administration offered relocation to a colony 20 km away, but they demand a rehabilitation site nearer to their farmland. The protests highlight grievances over inadequate compensation, loss of religious sites, and the displacement of families linked to the irrigation project.