Bhubaneswar: A brainstorming session on the Mahanadi water dispute, focusing on the availability, sharing and regulation of water in the river, was organised by Mahanadi Bachao Andolan (MBA) at Rotary Bhawan Sunday.
The meeting brought together leaders from almost all major political parties, except the ruling BJP, along with experts, former administrators, engineers and environmentalists.
Chaired by former Director General of Police Amiya Bhushan Tripathy, the session focused on concerns over water availability in the Mahanadi basin and the need for an independent assessment of data submitted before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal.
“The data presented by the current and the last government on the Mahanadi issue is technically flawed.
There is a particular principle used to measure the flow of a river and it varies in different seasons.
The current data is not factual,” said noted water conservationist Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the ‘Waterman of India’.
Participants expressed concern over the impact of upstream water projects in Chhattisgarh on the river’s flow.
They stressed the need for a scientific verification of water availability data by nationally recognised experts and engineers.
Former Irrigation Minister Niranjan Patnaik said the Odisha government should take measures to improve water conservation downstream of the Hirakud Dam.
BJD MLA and former member of the state government’s high-level committee on the Mahanadi dispute Niranjan Pujari alleged that the committee had made little progress in resolving the issue and that its members were not adequately informed about the data being submitted before the tribunal.
Senior journalist Rabi Das warned that failure to address the river’s deteriorating condition could have serious consequences for large parts of Odisha, while environmentalist Prafulla Samantara urged authorities to focus not only on the Mahanadi but also on the protection of all rivers in Odisha.
The meeting unanimously adopted three resolutions. Participants decided to organise a national conference of water experts in New Delhi to examine the actual availability of water in the Mahanadi basin.
They also resolved to hold a human chain programme in Bhubaneswar ahead of the prime minister’s proposed visit to Odisha, coinciding with the completion of two years of the BJP government in the state.
In addition, awareness conventions and ‘Mahanadi Yatra’ will be organised across districts located along the river basin.