Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 26:

A day after Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi wrote to his Chhattisgarh counterpart requesting him to stop all construction activities on the upper catchment of Mahanadi, Biju Janata Dal today said that it will raise the issue in Parliament to build pressure on the Center to get the construction activities in Chhattisgarh stopped.

Barrage built on Mahanadi river in Chhattisgarh. Barrage built on Mahanadi river in Chhattisgarh.

Speaking to reporters, BJD MP Anang Uday Singh Deo said, “The Central Government is supporting the BJP led Chhattisgarh Government. They give us a step-motherly treatment. However, we won’t let it go. We will agitate in the parliament and outside. We will go to the people and approach the courts too.”

Meanwhile, BJD workers today took to the streets in Bhubaneswar led by local MLAs: Priyadarshi Mishra, Bijay Mohanty and Mayor Anant Narayan Jena.

Hundreds of party activists shouted slogans against the Center, Chhattisgarh government and burnt effigy of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh demanding an immidiate stay on construction activities on Mahanadi there.

Reacting to the development, Chhattisgarh Water Resources Minister Brij Mohan Agarwal accused Odisha of playing politics over the issue.

“Odisha doesn’t want a solution to the issue. They want to keep it alive for political gains. This is an issue that could be sorted out through talks. Minister Uma Bharti has given her consent to mediate. I think talking about tribunals, supreme court under such circumstances is an attempt to drag the issue further,” said Agarwal.

In a related development, reiterating the stand of BJP and Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Union petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today welcomed the State Government’s move seeking formation of a tribunal to address the dispute.