BJD raising Mahanadi issue to divert attention: Oram

The BJD-led Odisha government has raised the Mahanadi river issue to divert attention from the killing of five villagers during an anti-naxal drive in Kandhamal and the death of 19 malnourished infants in Jajpur, Union Minister Jual Oram said today.
"I feel the Naveen Patnaik government which came under attack over recent Kandhamal killings and infant deaths at Nagada village in Jajpur district is raising Mahanadi river water issue only to divert people's attention," the Union Tribal Affairs Minister said.
While five villagers, including three tribals, were shot dead during anti-Maoist operation by security men on July 8, at least 19 infants died in a short span at Nagada village in Jajpur district allegedly due to malnutrition.

Accusing the ruling BJD of giving contradictory views, Oram said though the state government was now making noise over construction of projects on Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh that could reduce water flow into Odisha, BJD MPs had last year urged the Centre to divert surplus water from Mahanadi to Rushikulya river basin.
In a letter to the Union Water Resources Minister on May 23, 2015, BJD MPs had stated that there was surplus water in Mahanadi river basin and sought diversion of the surplus water to the water deficit Rushikulya basin, the senior BJP leader told a TV channel.
The BJD MPs in their letter had stated that surplus water of Mahanadi river was flowing into the sea during monsoon season and thus going waste, Oram said.

Reacting to Oram's allegation, BJD MP Sidhant Mohapatra said the party had sought diversion of Mahanadi water only during monsoon for irrigation and drinking water projects in south Odisha.
BJD is agitating over Mahanadi water issue claiming that the Odisha government was kept in the dark about construction of barrages and dams in upper reaches of the inter-state river in Chhattisgarh. It says these projects would severely hit flow of river water into Odisha and affect irrigation and power generation.
However, opposition Congress and BJP rejected BJD's claim saying the state government was very much aware of the projects way back in 2001 and that it had received communications in this regard from Chhattisgarh.