Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJP and opposition BJD Saturday had a heated exchange of words over the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi claimed that the conflict would be resolved within three months.
CM Majhi had made the claim after attending a tripartite meeting chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil over the Mahanadi water dispute held at New Delhi July 30. The meeting was also attended by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.
The BJD, headed by Naveen Patnaik, criticised the ‘triple engine government’ (BJP govt in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Centre) for “failing” to resolve the dispute. “The state’s BJP government has failed to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute despite having a triple government. Odisha’s BJP government has completely surrendered before the Chhattisgarh government,” BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra claimed at a press conference in Bhubaneswar.
Odisha BJP general secretary Biranchi Narayan Tripathy at a separate press conference blamed the previous BJD government and accused it of creating the Mahanadi water dispute. “The Chhattisgarh government built all the barrages upstream of Mahanadi due to the incompetence of the then BJD government. Now, when CM Majhi is attempting to resolve the issue, the regional party has been creating noise in order to gain cheap political mileage,” Tripathy said.
The BJP leader said, “When Chhattisgarh was building barrages upstream of Mahanadi in 2016-17, the then BJD government’s water resources secretary said it would not impact Odisha. Taking advantage of BJD’s soft attitude, they (Chhattisgarh) built the structures that now hinder the free flow of water to Odisha. Who is responsible?”
The BJD vice-president asked Majhi to inform the people of Odisha about his claim that the dispute would be resolved within three months. “The state government must immediately make public the deliberations held in the meeting. The BJP government is simply misleading the people as the Chhattisgarh government is not paying any attention to Odisha’s concerns,” Mishra alleged.
“By sacrificing Odisha’s interests, the BJP government has surrendered before Chhattisgarh. Since Majhi himself attended the meeting, it is his moral responsibility to inform the people of Odisha about the basis and outcome of the discussions held in New Delhi. He has failed to make public what was discussed during the meeting,” the BJD leader told reporters.
BJD MLA and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, and party’s senior general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra strongly condemned the BJP government’s “failure” to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute. They claimed that the devastating flood situation in Odisha is entirely man-made.
The BJD, in a statement, alleged that Chhattisgarh is not cooperating with Odisha regarding the management of the Mahanadi waters. Despite repeated requests, Chhattisgarh has refused to establish a new gauge near the Saradihi Barrage. The neighbouring state also continues to disregard the Odisha government’s concerns.
“Due to Chhattisgarh’s arbitrary actions, the rule curve policy for the safety of the Hirakud Reservoir cannot be implemented effectively. The backwater effect from Chhattisgarh is posing a threat to the Hirakud Reservoir and worsening the flood situation in Odisha,” the BJD alleged.
