By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Mahanadi is the lifeline of Odisha. The state government has not been able to properly utilize its water due to the fact that this dispute has been in the tribunal for a long time. All kinds of work, including water supply to the farmland and drinking water supply, have been stopped. But due to the efforts of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, the Union Minister for Water Resources C.R. Patil, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Shri Bishnu Deb Sai, along with the Chief Secretaries of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and other technical officers are leading towards a solution to this dispute. After the meeting of both the state governments, the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Majhi has expressed hope that the Mahanadi water dispute will be resolved through amicable negotiations by next Diwali. In this regard, the Central Water Commission (CWC) has constituted a technical committee. On what basis will the Mahanadi water be distributed, a report will be presented before the committee in the presence of C.R. Patil.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government is making efforts to ensure that the state is not deprived of the waters of the Mahanadi, on which Odisha has the right. The Hon’ble Chief Minister, other officers and departmental ministers of the Odisha government are aware of this and are also working on it. In this regard, the BJP is thanking all the members of the said committee, starting from the Hon’ble Chief Minister. But the BJD has raised all the absurd questions in the press conference, which has made their frustration clear. Perhaps the BJD has asked such questions just to be in the media, said BJP State General Secretary Shri Biranchi Narayan Tripathy at a press conference held at the state office.
Mr. Tripathy said that the questions raised by BJD Vice President and former Minister Shri Devi Prasad Mishra and other BJD leaders in the press conference should not be forgotten that during the Mahanadi water dispute, Shri Mishra was an MLA and also a minister in Naveen Patnaik’s government. In fact, the creator of the Mahanadi water dispute is the BJD. All the barrages built by Chhattisgarh were built during the BJD government. But at that time, the then BJD government or its ministers and MLAs did not raise any questions. Only the BJP raised questions on this issue at that time. BJP MLAs repeatedly raised questions on this issue in the Assembly.
But starting with Naveen, no MLA or minister listened to this. At that time, the then BJD government said that these barrages would not cause any problem for Odisha. In 2016-17, the then Secretary of the Water Resources Department told the media that even if Chhattisgarh built 100 dams, Odisha would not face any problem. But first, let the BJD explain why it did not open its mouth at that time. Due to the incompetence of the BJD government, the Chhattisgarh government had built many barrages on the Mahanadi. Naveen Patnaik had taken the Water Resources Department under his control. But at that time, he had not built a single barrage on the Mahanadi or any of its tributaries. Not a single small, medium or big project was done to conserve the water of the Mahanadi and use it for the benefit of the people of Odisha. Not only that, all the work was stopped because the Mahanadi water dispute was given to the tribunal without resolving it. The BJD did not even provide any information to the tribunal on the Mahanadi issue. Now, a question has arisen as to on what authority the BJD is asking questions. Shri Tripathi has asked when will the BJD’s cheap politics on the Mahanadi issue end.
BJP is a political party dedicated to the people of Odisha and the farmers of Odisha. On that basis, the Mahanadi dispute will be resolved. The BJP government of Odisha has prepared a comprehensive plan to conserve the water of the Mahanadi and use it for farming, starting from drinking water for the entire people of Odisha. One part of this plan is to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute. Since this dispute is in the tribunal, no work can be done. In this regard, the said dispute will be resolved through mutual discussions by taking it from the tribunal. Shri Tripathi said that the BJP government is working to make the Mahanadi water reach the general public and the farmers.
On the other hand, the BJD is doing a lot of talking. We are asking for the public to know what was discussed between the two state governments to resolve the Mahanadi dispute. But the BJD should know that the discussions are not over. Whenever there is a discussion between the governments of the two states, it is not made public until it is over. It is very ridiculous to raise such questions without introspecting on the incompetence of the BJD due to which the Mahanadi water dispute occurred, said Shri Tripathi.
