Mahanadi: Odisha to move Supreme Court, BJD burns effigies of Uma Bharti, Raman Singh

With Chhattisgarh refusing to stop work on the projects being constructed on the upstream of the Mahanadi river, the Odisha government today said it will move the Supreme Court on the issue even as ruling BJD supporters burnt effigies of Uma Bharti and Raman Singh.

Bhubaneswar, Sep 19: With Chhattisgarh refusing to stop work on the projects being constructed on the upstream of the Mahanadi river, the Odisha government today said it will move the Supreme Court on the issue even as ruling BJD supporters burnt effigies of Uma Bharti and Raman Singh. “The state cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to approach the Supreme Court as the Chhattisgarh government turned down Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s demand of stopping construction of projects on the upstream of Mahanadi,” state Excise Minister Damodar Rout told reporters here.

“The cabinet fully supports the state government’s proposal of approaching the Supreme Court,” he said. Patnaik today held parleys with the leaders of different political parties, members of voluntary organisations and experts on the Mahanadi issue. Leaders of CPI, CPI(M), SP, RJD, CPI-ML, Forward Bloc and SUCI took part in the meeting. The chief minister apprised them about the September 17 tripartite meeting at New Delhi. “Representatives of the political parties, who met the chief minister today, have supported the state government’s stand on the Mahanadi issue,” an official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said.(ALSO READ: Amid Cauvery dispute, Odisha and Chhattisgarh to lock horns over Mahanadi water sharing?)

“We were apprised of what had happened in the meeting which has already appeared in the media. There was nothing new. We have told the chief minister that the state government delayed in raising its voice against the construction by the Chhattisgarh government,” CPI(M) leader Janardan Pati told reporters. He said the CPI(M) has suggested to the state government to approach the Supreme Court to set up a tribunal to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute as the NDA-led Central government might support Chhattisgarh. Pati also said there was no need to directly approach the Centre for setting up a tribunal as Chhattisgarh was ruled by the BJP.

“The Centre will be forced to set up a tribunal if the Supreme Court intervenes,” he added. “I have met the leaders of political parties and sought their opinion on the Mahanadi issue. The state government is taking the views of leaders, voluntary organisations and experts seriously,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters here. Earlier in the day, ruling BJD activists, led by some MLAs, burnt the effigies of Union minister Uma Bharti and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh at Master Canteen Square here and also at Sambalpur town. The protest of the ruling party was against Singh, who at the September 17 tripartite meeting, refused to stop construction of projects on the upstream of the Mahanadi and also the Centre, which allegedly did not take a “neutral” stand on the dispute.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said the Centre had assured that there would be no decline in the water flow of the Mahanadi even as Chhattisgarh constructed projects under its jurisdiction. “Hirakud Dam will get the same volume of water as it used to get in the 50s,” he told reporters here while accusing the ruling BJD in Odisha of “politicising” the issue. Senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra, however, suggested that the state government should directly meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before approaching the Supreme Court. The government may seek setting up of a tribunal or a river board to resolve the ongoing dispute, he said. Odisha Congress chief Prasad Harichandan blamed both the Centre and the state government for the dispute.