Prime Minister Narendra Modi may kindly understand that all water sources, including small to big rivers, are the nature’s property and cannot be politically divided. Nature has built such a life support system, where man himself is a member of the ecological process.
In nature, there are three things like air, water and food, which support the lives. The entire bio-diversity right from plant to animal is governed by a process of ecology. The nature is itself the manager. No living organism can survive for a moment without water, air and food. Every individual in the nature has right to enjoy these things for its survival, which nobody can be deprived of. Thus political supremacy cannot monopolise over water. It is not a commodity for business.
Every individual has a right to use water reasonably. The present so-called modern man should know that nature has not made the water sources for leasing out to private industrialists for business at the cost the survival of others.
The Mahanadi is the lifeline of both Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The river originates from the Eastern Ghat Hill range of India and starts from political boundary of Chhattisgarh. The plateau which is the mother of the river is known as Amarkantak. The total length of the river is 960 km.
This river has 15 main or principal tributaries, small to large, which feed the river only during rainy season. It is a rainfed river. Its survival depends on rain alone. Out of 15 main feeder channels of the Mahanadi, 12 streams come within the political boundary of Chhattisgarh and rest three come within the political limits of Odisha.
The total catchment area of the river is 1,40,716 sq km out of which 75,136 sqkm come within the jurisdiction of Chhattisgarh and rest 65,580 sq. km come within Odisha. It shows that the major sources of water of Mahanadi come within the political jurisdictions of Chhattisgarh.
So, the raising of several barrages and annicuts in upstream is not only illegal, but also proves the high-handedness of the Chhattisgarh Government. The Union Government as well as the Chhattisgarh Government should know that a river can lose its identity if both the inlets and outlets do not function well.
When all the principal inlets, including the mainstream of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh, side are dammed, how the river itself and its outlets such as 22 distributaries and sub-distributaries, can function normally, without waterIJ Other than 22 distributaries and sub-distributaries, there are several creeks in the river mouth of the Mahanadi which create altogether different types of ecological systems. Such eco-systems are created because of unhindered flow of fresh river water and saline water of sea. These creeks act as inlets and outlets during rainy season.
The writer is an inhabitant of the Mahanadi basin. Without flow of sufficient water in a river, the nature’s aquaculture cannot thrive.
The whims of Chhattisgarh Government cannot solve the problems and crisis of people, who squarely depend on the river for their livelihood. Those who are arguing that 53 per cent of water of Mahanadi is flowing out into the Bay of Bengal without proper use are absolutely wrong to say that. It is true the major quantity of water during monsoon is flowing into sea through various rivulets, channels and creeks, which sustain various ecological systems and bio-complexes.
These bio-complexes not only provide foods and livelihoods to the coastal races, but also provide protections against natural calamities and disasters like cyclone and tornadoes. The costal people and the coastal region are always prone to climatic as well as oceanic disasters, so the natural ecological barriers of various plant species always protect the coastal human habitats, especially of estuarine areas.
It is most unfortunate thing that our political leaders without knowing what a river is and how it functions for the causes of biodiversities are making irresponsible utterances. The reiverine plains are most fertile. A wide variety of paddies, pulses, vegetables, fruits and flowers are grown in these zones. The Prime Minister of a country or the President should be a neutral man sans any bias.
If we take the case of Mahanadi water, the matter cannot be taken as ‘sleeping- lion- catches- no- deer way’ in case of Odisha.
Even if the lion is asleep its due share of water cannot be denied by others. Many people blame the Odisha Government that it did not raise timely objection to prevent the Government of Chhattisgarh to carry out several masonry structures over the river. In a democratic set-up how the share of a State over water can be hijackedIJ It shows those who advocate in favour of Chhattisgarh and condemn Odisha in the Mahanadi issue do not understand the meaning of democracy.
At his May 26 Cuttack rally, PM Modi said that 53 per cent of the Mahanadi water is going out to the Bay of Bengal during rainy season due to failure of Odisha to tap the water effectively. The question here arises is if no water will be allowed to go to ocean from any river, there will be climatic disasters. It is now clear when the Centre is siding with the Chhattisgarh Government, the Supreme Court is the only alternative for Odisha people to get justice.
(The writer is a former forest officer and environmentalist M-9937460649)