Bhubaneswar: The Mahanadi Bachao Andolan (MBA) Tuesday staged a protest outside the office of the Chief Engineer of the Central Water Commission (CWC) here, demanding public disclosure of the technical data and report being considered for an amicable settlement of the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The protest came amid indications that the proposed resolution would be based on data provided by the CWC.
However, the commission’s complete report and the underlying hydrological data have not been made public, raising concerns over the transparency of the process. The agitators pressed for three key demands – publication of the CWC’s complete report and data, allocation of at least two million acre-feet (MAF) of water to Odisha during the non-monsoon period and a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impact of projects allegedly constructed illegally by Chhattisgarh on the river. Led by convenor Sudarshan Das, the protest witnessed participation from political leaders, civil society members, intellectuals and river rights activists. A delegation comprising Das, joint convenor Basudev Bhatt, spokesperson Prasanna Kumar Bisoyi and representatives of Congress, CPI(M), Aam Aadmi Party and other organisations met CWC Chief Engineer Nag Mohan and submitted a memorandum.
The delegation sought immediate disclosure of the commission’s technical report, hydrological data, water-allocation calculations and the methodology adopted. The Chief Engineer assured them that the memorandum would be forwarded to the CWC headquarters in New Delhi. The Andolan maintained that no water-sharing agreement should be finalised without making the relevant data public and undertaking an independent technical assessment.
