BHUBANESWAR: The Mahanadi Bachao Andolan (MBA) on Friday demanded that the technical report of the Central Water Commission (CWC), hydrological data, calculations and methodology of the proposed water allocation of Mahanadi river between Odisha and Chhattisgarh be made public.
The MBA organised a roundtable meeting here to intensify the movement for safeguarding Odisha’s rights over Mahanadi waters and protecting the river. It was decided that no water-sharing agreement between the two states should be finalised without independent technical scrutiny and public disclosure of all relevant information.
A protest demonstration will be organised on November 10 in front of the regional office of the CWC here to press for the demand.
The meeting resolved that if the final award of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal failed to ensure justice to Odisha and protect the interests of the Mahanadi basin, MBA will explore appropriate legal remedies before the Supreme Court.
Convenor of MBA Sudarsan Das said the declining or complete stoppage of river flow during the non-monsoon season has severely affected farmers, fisherfolk and other communities dependent on the Mahanadi for their livelihoods. The meeting recognised this as a serious human rights concern and resolved to approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking its intervention.
The meeting was chaired by former DGP Amiya Bhushan Tripathy. Hydrology experts, former senior bureaucrats, retired chief engineers and senior officials of the Water Resources department, representatives of different political parties, members of civil society and eminent intellectuals participated in the deliberations.
