Bargarh/Jharsuguda: Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik flagged off the second phase of the Save Mahanadi campaign (Mahanadi Surakhya Abhiyan), from Sukhasoda village under Lakhanpur block in this district Wednesday.
The rally would pass through 15 districts namely Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Jagatsinghpur and culminate at Paradip.
The CM said the fight for Mahanadi is not only of the BJD but of entire Odisha and exhorted the people and all political parties to rise above politics and join hands in the campaign.
The campaign was launched at Chikili village under Ambabhona block of Bargarh district. A public meeting was organised by the party in the presence of the Chief Minister, labour minister Susant Singh, the handloom, textile and handicrafts minister Snehangini Chhuria, Prasanna Acharya MP and other party leaders.
Addressing the inaugural rally, the chief minister said, “Mahanadi is the lifeline of Odisha, our Mother and we cannot think of an Odisha without Mahanadi waters.
The attitude of the BJP at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh is anti-Odisha. So, I call upon all the people to stand up against the Chhattisgarh government as we are fighting for the cause of the people and the future generations.”
“During the fortnight-long campaign, public meetings, roadside meetings and cultural programmes will be organised in villages and towns enroute to make the public aware about the conspiracy hatched by the Chhattisgarh government to dry up Mahanadi river”, minister Susant Singh said.
Diyas would be offered to the Lords in temples on both sides of the river including Maa Samaleswari in Sambalpur and Lord Gadagadeswar in Cuttack.
Patnaik said, “Mahanadi is the pride and glory of Odisha, it’s our mother. We shall not allow Mahanadi to dry up. The BJD will intensify its fight against the conspiracy hatched by the BJP-led Centre and the Chhattisgarh government to dry up the river.”
