The ruling BJD on Saturday launched a Kalash Yatra in Baragrh district to protest against the construction of dams on the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh.
Around 2,000 Biju Mahila Janata Dal activists led by its Bargarh district president Sujata Panda, BJD district president Bijayaranjan Singh Bariha, Minister Snehangini Chhuria, party vice-president Surjya Narayan Patro took out a procession from the Kalyan Mandap to Canal Chowk in the town after collecting water from the Jira river, a tributary of the Mahanadi, and the Bargarh main canal.
The activists later broke the water-filled earthen pots in front of the photographs of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti and her deputy Sanjeev Balyan at Gandhi Chowk.
The party alleged that the Chhattisgarh Government has planned a series of large projects on the Mahanadi without any approval of the Odisha Government. “Water flow at the Hirakud Dam will recede substantially if construction projects are undertaken on the upper reaches of the Mahanadi. Odisha will incur a heavy loss if the projects get implemented as irrigation and water conservation efficiency in a 473-square km area of western, coastal and middle regions of Odisha will be greatly affected,” said Minister Snehangini Chhuria.
“The party is protesting in a democratic way. This will give a message to the Chhattisgarh Government and will definitely have an impact,” said Surjya Narayan Patro.
The Kalash Yatra would cover five more western districts in the State before culminating on August 26.