Rourkela: Even as the row with Chhattisgarh over distribution of Mahanadi water is yet to be resolved, another dispute has surfaced over the sharing of Brahmani water with Jharkhand.
According to reports, the riverbed of Brahmani has dried up after Jharkhand government began construction of a barrage at its upstream. Local MLA Dilip Ray has written a letter to the Prime Minister and urged him to settle the issue by convening a meeting between the Chief Ministers of both states.
Meanwhile, three more MLAs of the state extended their support to Ray and threatened to launch an indefinite stir unless the issue was resolved soon.
If a state plans to set up barrage on the upper catchment area of a river, it should hold discussions with the affected states of the downstream, said Raghunathpali MLA Subrat Tarai.
No state can take such a decision without the sanction of the Centre. In this case, it is violation of the existing federal system of the country, he added.
Being the head of the nation, the Prime Minister should immediately intervene in the matter. With construction of barrage by Jharkhand at Brahmani upstream, people of many districts of Orissa would be badly affected and to prevent this he is ready to support any movement in the interest of the state, Tarai said.
Similarly, Biramitrapur MLA George Tirkey said the move by Jharkhand would lead to bitterness between the two states and the PM should take action in this direction.
Brahmani is the lifeline for many people in the state. Residents of Rourkela are in a precarious state after the drying up of the river thanks to the ongoing barrage projects of Jharkhand, Tirkey added. Locals would resort to agitation unless Jharkhand stops the projects, he warned.
Talasara MLA Prafulla Majhi also supported the demand of the local MLA.
Ray in his letter to the PM had pointed out that the Jharkhand government is constructing a barrage at Gumal due to which the water level has decreased in Mandira dam that supplies water to the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).
Similarly, the neighbouring government is setting up a dam on river Koel to generate 710 megawatt of electricity.
This move would not only reduce the flow of the water into Brahmani, the barrages including Rengali and Samal set up on this river would be badly affected, the MLA had said in his letter. Besides, water scarcity in Brahmani would have its adverse impact on several regions of Sundargarh, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Deogarh and Kendrapara districts. While several industries including RSP would be closed due to dearth of water, people would struggle for every drop of water and the irrigation sector would also be affected, informed Ray in his letter.
As Orissa is all set to suffer due to the unilateral decision of Jharkhand, the PM should call a meeting and resolve the issue, Ray said. PNN
