A day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh to ensure free flow of water in the Mahanadi by immediately opening the gates of the Kalma barrage closed by the neighbouring State recently, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said he would take up the issue with the Union Water Resources Ministry, the Chhattisgarh Government and the Central Water Commission (CWC).
“I came to know about the matter (CM’s letter to the Chhattisgarh CM) from newspapers today. The BJP too wants free flow of water in the Mahanadi. I will take up the matter with the Water Resources Ministry, the Chhattisgarh Government and the CWC. People and farmers of Odisha shall not suffer due to water scarcity. There will be no compromise on the matters of drinking water and irrigation,” said Pradhan.
BJD spokesperson and Minister SN Patro said to media, “When any dispute on water sharing arises over a river that flows through two States, the issue gets resolved in a democratic manner on inter-State principles by Central organisations like the CWC. However, if the present issue persists, Odisha will draw the attention of the Centre once again, and if the issue is still unresolved, Odisha will knock at doors of the Supreme Court.”
CM Patnaik, strongly criticising the unilateral decision of closure of the gates of the Kalma barrage by the Chhattisgarh Government to stop flow in the inter-State river, on Saturday wrote a letter to Raman Singh and stated that his Government’s move has caused severe distress downstream affecting people in three districts, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Bargarh, resulting in widespread unrest.