BHUBANESWAR: The Mahanadi Bachao Andolan (MBA) on Thursday staged a demonstration alleging that the five-day Odisha visit of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) with a huge expenditure to the state exchequer will not benefit the people of the state.
The Tribunal, headed by its chairperson Justice Bela M Trivedi arrived in the state on the day. MBA convenor Sudarsan Das told mediapersons that the tribunal has not given an interim direction to the Chhattisgarh government to release Mahanadi water during non-monsoon season in interest of the state and its people.
“When such a visit in May, 2023 had not benefitted Odisha, why should such an expensive visit by the tribunal members and their family members be funded by the state exchequer?” he asked.
Das said the MBA will protest the visit of the tribunal at several places including Cuttack, Konark, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Paradip and Athamallik during its stay in the state till March 2.
Meanwhile, in a memorandum to the tribunal chairperson, the MBA urged that the Tribunal issue an interim order directing the Chhattisgarh government to release the required quantity of water to Odisha to ensure irrigation, drinking water security and ecological balance. The outfit noted that the minimum ecological flow should be maintained to protect the river system and dependent livelihoods. Besides, a transparent monitoring mechanism for real-time flow data and compliance should be put in place, it added.
It further termed the tribunal’s current visit as merely a sightseeing exercise rather than a serious effort toward resolving the urgent water crisis.