BHUBANESWAR: Intensifying its fight over Mahanadi river water dispute, the State Government on Friday asked Chhattisgarh to stop work on different projects in the upper catchment areas of the river. In a letter to his Chhattisgarh counteArpart, Chief Secretary AP Padhi requested the neighbouring State to release required amount of water needed in Odisha through the projects that have already been completed.
The letter mentions the amount of water that Chhattisgarh is using and the effects of future water use on Odisha. The letter informs the Chhattisgarh about the petition filed by Odisha Government with the Union Water Resources Ministry and the demand for formation of a tribunal to settle the dispute. “We have asked them to stop work on all the ongoing projects and to release the desired amount of water through the completed barrages. We have requested them to act immediately,” he said.