Reiterating his claim that the State would get justice in the Mahanadi water dispute issue, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said he is hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would intervene in these sensitive matters at the earliest.
In an apparent bid to instil a sense of belief among the people that the Mahanadi controversy involving Chhattisgarh is escalating day by day due to the nonintervention of the Prime Minister, Patnaik asked his party cadres to reach out to people against the apathy of the Central Government on the Polavaram and Mahanadi issues.
“Mahanadi is the lifeline of Odisha. I hope the Prime Minister will intervene in the water dispute and ensure justice to Odisha at the earliest,” said Patnaik.
Earlier, Patnaik had written to the PM seeking his intervention in the matter.
The statement of the Chief Minister came while addressing a gathering of party leaders and workers at the launching of the BJD’s month-long Jan Sampark padayatra at Nugaon on the city outskirts.
The public contact exercise, which used to be held for 10 days from the Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) to the Jayaprakash Narayan Jayanti (October 11) every year, would continue for a month this year obviously in view of the coming panchayat elections.
“The padayatra is aimed at informing the people about the Government’s welfare programmes and also the
Central Government’s neglect, particularly on the Mahanadi and Polavaram issues,” said Patnaik.