Mahanadi Project Issue: Jairam Asks Naveen To Take All Party Delegation To New Delhi

BHUBANESWAR: An All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegation on Sunday asked Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take an all-party delegation to New Delhi to resolve barrage construction issue on Mahanadi river.

“If the barrage construction by Chhattisgarh government on Mahanadi river has any negative impact on Odisha, it should be resolved. The Chief Minister should take an all-party delegation to Delhi and apprise the Prime Minister that construction work should start after discussion with Odisha,” said former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.

He said the Congress party would send a delegation to Chhattisgarh to take stock of the situation in next seven days.

The delegation would prepare a report on the barrage construction by Chhattisgarh government on the upper catchment of Mahanadi river. It would also cite the possible impact on Odisha, he added.

The statement of Ramesh came in following the announcement of ruling BJD to hold demonstrations across the state.

The ruling party would hold demonstrations in 15 districts protesting against Chhattisgarh government’s move from July 25 till August 11.

However, the former Union Minister termed it as a tactical move to divert the attention of people from Kandhamal incident. He said making noise and staging protests here are meaningless.

“They know that we are going to Kandhamal to conduct an inquiry into the incident. So, they decided to hold demonstrations to divert the attention of people,” said Ramesh.