The Biju Janata Dal on Wednesday announced that it will launch a people’s movement from 16 May billed as Mahanadi Surakshya Abhijan which will cover 15 districts involving 45 assembly constituencies to expose the ‘conspiracy of the BJP’ to render the Mahanadi dry.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier stated that the BJP which is in power at the centre and Chhattisgarh is deliberately impeding flow of Mahanadi water to Odisha and is conspiring against the people of Odisha.

To create awareness amongst people of the Mahanadi belt, the BJD will launch its Abhijan or Yatra from Jharsuguda and Bargarh districts- both banks of Mahanadi on 16 May. The yatra will cover nearly 1,600 km and conclude at Paradip after eight to 10 days.

Addressing a press conference here, BJD MP Prasanna Acharya, former ministers D P Mishra, S D Burma and Atanu S Nayak were at pains to insist that it was a social movement and not a political one. We want to involve everyone , all sections of people since it is in the interest of Odisha, they said.

Mahanadi has already been affected due to the unilateral and illegal construction of barrages up stream of the river by Chhattisgarh government. Since it is a BJP government, the centre has turned a blind eye to all this despite repeated protests and objections by Odisha government, decried the BJD leaders.

Already the flow has gone down by 40 percent, irrigation, as well as power generation in Odisha, has been adversely affected, noted Acharya. Odisha government had to battle it ought with the centre and finally obtain an order from the Supreme Court directing the centre to constitute a Tribunal under the water dispute act for resolution of the dispute, noted D P Mishra.

The central government was forced to constitute the Tribunal but it went on the delay issuance of the terms of reference , for which the BJD had to protest again, they pointed out.

The Yatra will involve people, circulate booklets and activists will stay overnight at villages where folk and skits will be organised to narrate the plight of the Mahanadi and how the BJP was against the interest of the river, the ecology and livelihood of people of Odisha.

Reacting sharply, the BJP here said the ruling BJD was making a tamasha of itself. In 18 years of power CM Naveen Patnaik has not been able to build a single barrage even though 53 per cent of Mahanadi water flows in to the sea without being used, charged the BJP.

The Congress too hit out at the BJD for trying to cover up its lapses and raking sentiments of the people by launching such yatra’s . We will also go to the people and say how the BJP and BJD had worked together till 2009 ignoring the barrage plans of Chhattisgarh government, said Congress leaders here.