BJD to hold protest against Chhattisgarh CM’s Odisha visit

Raman Singh

Bhubaneswar, Feb 8 – The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday said it will stage a ‘Jal Satyagraha’ (water protest) against Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh’s visit to Odisha since the construction on the Mahanadi river has not been stopped.

Raman Singh will campaign at several places for the Bharatiya Janata Party for the ensuing panchayat polls in Odisha from Thursday.

The dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the Mahanadi has continued for long, since the construction of barrages by the latter state on the river and its tributaries has allegedly affected the flow of water into Odisha.

BJD spokesperson Sashibhusan Behera said Jal Satyagraha will be held in Cuttack and Sambalpur on Thursday during Raman Singh’s campaigning.

“We will stage the Jal Satyagraha from tomorrow (Thursday) in Cuttack and Sambalpur. In the morning, our party activists will stage the protest at Mahanadi in Sambalpur and in the evening we will perform ‘sandhya alati’ (evening puja). It will be a peaceful and silent protest,” he said.

Demanding a stop on the construction activities on the upper catchment of Mahanadi river, Behera said the Chhattisgarh government in connivance with the Centre managed to construct such large projects despite Odisha’s opposition.

Reacting to the proposed protests, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the state’s people will help bring down the BJD government that he said was mired in corruption.

He said the state government is trying to suppress the voice of the opposition ahead of the local polls.