BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Wednesday held the State government responsible for the flood situation in the lower catchment of Mahanadi river, which has affected more than 12 districts. The prevailing situation in the State is the outcome of gross mismanagement of flood water from Hirakud dam and utter negligence of the Water Resources department to the safety of river and saline embankments, said State BJP president Samir Mohanty in a press conference here.
“The BJD government has neither given a relook to the rule curve of Hirakud dam in the last 22 years nor has the Chief Minister taken a review of the safety of river embankments,” Mohanty said. He said the rule curve which specifies the storage or empty space to be maintained in a reservoir during different times of the year and opening of sluice gates of a dam has to be reviewed every 10 years. The rule curve was prepared in 1962 and the last time it was reviewed and necessary changes were made was in 1984.
Meanwhile, 38 years have passed and the BJD which is in power for more than 22 years has not bothered to re-examine the same when the water storing capacity of Hirakud dam has shrunk considerably due to siltation over the years.
The State government which waged a war against Chhattisgarh government over water sharing is unable to explain what went wrong that over two lakh people of the State are now suffering. Blaming the government for its mismanagement of reservoir water leading to the current flood situation, Mohanty wondered where the money provisioned every year for strengthening of river and saline embankments were spent.
“It is a matter of great concern that the State government has not taken a single review on the safety of the river embankments in the last three years. Numerous breaches in river embankments in a medium scale flood is a testimony to the large scale corruption in the Water Resources department,” he said.
Mohanty said the State government has left the people of the affected areas to fend for themselves as the administration has failed to reach them.