BJD demands stoppage of construction of barrage on Mahanadi

BJD, the ruling party of Odisha, today asked the union government to order stoppage of construction of a barrage by Chhattisgarh on the Mahanadi river pending a resolution of the disputed matter.
Raising the matter in the Lok Sabha, Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said, "I would like to urge upon this government to intervene in the matter and tell them (Chattisgarh government) not proceed with the construction of the dam."
He said that although the central government had said that construction of dam would not allowed without the permission of the Central Water Commission, the Chhattisgarh government has started construction of dams over the tributaries of Mahanadi.

Regretting the statement of Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh that work on dam would be completed on warfooting, Mahtab said, "this is a blatant violation of law.
"I demand the union government to intervene in the matter and stop construction of dams when tripartite discussions are taking place between the states of Chattisgarh, Odisha under the tutelage of the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi and interactions are taking place between all these three stakeholders. There is no necessity of making such statements in the public," he said.
Last month, the BJD members had staged a demonstration in the Parliament premises to protest against construction of barrage on Mahanadi.

BJD is of the view that Mahanadi flows across the two states, the matter should be resolved expeditiously to safeguard the interest of farmers in Odisha.