Mahanadi issue: President refers Odisha Congress memorandum to PMO

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct 29:

Acting on the request of Odisha Congress MLAs, President Pranab Mukherjee has taken the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on loop in the Mahanadi water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Narasingha Mishra said today.

Speaking to reporters, Mishra said that apart from the PMO, President Mukherjee has also forwarded their memorandum to the Home Minister’s Office along with Water Resources Department.

Congress has received a communication from Rashtrapati Bhawan on this context.

“We had requested the President to ask the Centre to stop all the illegal constructions on the upper catchments of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh. Further, we had also requested him to advise the Union Government to form an interstate water dispute tribunal incase the parties were unable to solve the issue through discussions,” said Mishra.

It may be mentioned here that all 16 Odisha Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition in Assembly Narasingha Mishra, met President Pranab Mukherjee on October 13 and had requested him to intervene in the Mahanadi water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.