Sambalpur: Senior BJP leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has once again admitted that Odisha was not receiving sufficient water from Mahanadi River during non-monsoon period as Chhattisgarh is blocking its flow.
“There is an urgent need to build up pressure on the neighbouring government and bring water to Mahanadi,” he stated while addressing the media in Sambalpur Sunday.
The inflow of Mahanadi water into the Hirakud reservoir in Odisha has been hit due to construction of barrages by the Chhattisgarh government in the upper catchment areas of the river, Pradhan acknowledged.
“Chhattisgarh has stopped Mahanadi water in the upper catchment areas. It is providing water to industries. As a result, lower catchments in Odisha are getting reduced water during the non-monsoon period,” Pradhan said.
Stating that Odisha also provides water to several industries from the Mahanadi, the Union Minister said it is necessary to mount pressure on the Chhattisgarh government to ensure that Odisha gets its due share of the river water. Pradhan’s comment on Mahanadi came barely nine days after he had condemned the statement of his party colleague and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on the river water dispute with Odisha, describing it as “deplorable”.
The interests of Odisha can never be compromised; Pradhan said. “Raman Singh’s remark on the Mahanadi issue is deplorable. People here have been saying that Chhattisgarh has committed a mistake. I also admit it,” Pradhan, who hails from Odisha, had told reporters here June 1. Asked whether Chhattisgarh was right in constructing barrages on the Mahanadi upstream unilaterally, he had said, “It is a mistake. The tribunal would take appropriate action for such acts.”
BJD asks Pradhan to seek PM’s help on Mahanadi
Bhubaneswar: Welcoming Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that the Chhattisgarh government is stopping water flow to Mahanadi river, BJD urged Pradhan to meet the Prime Minister and seek his intervention in the issue.
Addressing the media here, BJD leader and Cabinet Minister Sashibhusan Behera said, “The Union Minister was forced to admit this not because his conscience tells him to do so, but owing to the pressure of the state’s populace. We always said that Chhattisgarh was stopping inflow of water to Mahanadi.”
The BJD leader also urged Pradhan to influence the Union government to press the Chhattisgarh government to stop construction activities on the upstream of the river till it gets clearance from the Tribunal constituted to resolve the Mahanadi water row.
“As he has admitted the wrongdoing of Chhattisgarh government, he should meet PM and seek his intervention into the issue and put pressure on the Chhattisgarh government to release water for the benefit of the people of Odisha,” said another BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma. “If the Union Minister will not do so, we will launch the third phase of Mahanadi Surakhya Abhiyan,” warned Das Burma, who was also present in the meet.
The ruling party has also asked Pradhan to clarify his stand over the water dispute. Pradhan must explain how and when Chhattisgarh will stop the construction of barrages and release water during the non-monsoon period, the BJD leaders said.
‘Ethanol plant in Bargarh soon’
Sambalpur: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Sunday said that work for the Rs 1,000 crore ethanol plant in Bargarh is likely to take off soon.
The Union minister for petroleum and natural gas said that the project was delayed as the state government allegedly failed to provide land on time. The problem has already been resolved, he added.
“While land for the project has already been provided, environmental clearance was also obtained. The work is expected to begin soon,” Pradhan told reporters here while briefing on achievements of BJP-led NDA government at the Centre during the last four years. “I am hopeful that the work on the project will take off in July or August this year,” he said. He said crop residue such as straw and other biomass would be utilised to produce ethanol in the plant, which is being set up with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. Pradhan said Sambalpur would be covered by piped gas distribution network within three years and CNG will be made available in the city in two years.