BERHAMPUR: The Vansadhara Ababahika Surakhya Samiti on Wednesday said the judgment of the Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal is not exactly against Odisha.
The tribunal has rather directed Andhra Pradesh (AP) that Neradi Barrage should be done as per the agreement between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, vice president of the body Akshaya Das said.
Till Neradi becomes functional, AP can draw water through Katragada as per the order within their share.
Besides, the four-member supervisory committee has very senior officers who are mostly acquainted with the problems and solutions of Vansadhara, its surrounding villages and its inhabitants.
According to Das, the problem is after November, there may be a tendency of flow towards right side of Katragada weir and AP could take advantage of the situation depriving Odisha from the flow.
Similarly, deposition of silts on river bed is anther problem which should be constantly dredged in the upstream and downstream of the structures to monitor the flow in the main river.
"It should be done by AP as it is the beneficiary State but it's very doubtful," Das said.
He said the monitoring committee has to play a major role in this but it is high time Odisha sat with AP in the presence of Central Water Commission to find a permanent solution keeping all the conditions of the Tribunal with negotiations.The body felt that Odisha should seriously think about constructing projects in the upstream to utilise its own share, otherwise it will to lose from the share in the future.