Bhubaneswar: Activists of the Mahanadi Bachao Andolan on Monday staged a protest here opposing Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s assertion that there was no dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over sharing of Mahanadi waters.
Sai, who arrived in Odisha on a two-day visit, made the remark while speaking to the media. The activists gathered near the statue of Madhusudan Das in front of Lok Bhawan and raised slogans while holding placards questioning Chhattisgarh’s water management in the Mahanadi basin.
The protesters questioned the continued closure of gates of the Kalma Barrage during the non-monsoon period and sought to know why Chhattisgarh was not releasing the 1.74 million acre-feet of water that Odisha requires during the period. They also sought clarity on projects constructed upstream without permission and the quantum of water Chhattisgarh proposes to store.
The activists, who had planned to stage a dharna, were taken into custody by personnel of the Capital Police Station. Convenor Sudarshan Das and other members of the organisation were detained at the police station for around three hours before being released.
Among those who participated in the protest were Basudev Bhatta, Girija Dash, Ashok Paikaray, Prasanna Bisoyi, Manoj Jena, Prakash Rath, Pradipta Nayak, Arun Jena, Meenarani Das, Sarveswar Mohanty, Vivekananda Biswal and Snehashu Jena.
The organisation alleged that the state government had not yet provided clear information to the people of Odisha about any proposed amicable settlement of the Mahanadi water issue. It also demanded that the government issue a press release detailing the discussions held between the chief ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh on the dispute.
