SAMBALPUR: A fierce tug of war has ensued between the BJP and the ruling BJD in Sambalpur over the contentious issue of the Mahanadi river water.
The BJP on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the ruling party, accusing it of inaction and neglecting Mahanadi river issue. The BJD responded by targeting Union minister and Sambalpur Lok Sabha candidate of BJP Dharmendra Pradhan.
At a press meet by a Mahanadi ghat in Sambalpur, BJP leader Pramod Rath said, Mahanadi river is crying out for attention because of the apathy of the BJD government. No efforts are being made to keep the river water clean. Neither the river water is fit for drinking nor for bathing as all the waste water is being discharged into the river. The State Pollution Control Board has given ‘D’ grade to the water quality of Mahanadi, he said.
“Even after ruling for so many years, the BJD has not taken any tangible step. They could neither build a barrage nor turn it into a green zone. The people of Sambalpur are visibly disgruntled over it,” Rath added.
The BJP further claimed that apart from the waste water of the city, all the small and big industries of Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts discharge chemical waste water directly into the river. There is no system to treat the polluted water discharged from the industries. Moreover, the damaged anicut near Ayodhya Sarovar ghat in Sambalpur city has not been repaired for many years as a result of which all the weed and algae are coming along with water and later causing skin diseases when used for bathing, the saffron party asserted.
Zonal spokesperson of BJP Manas Ranjan Baxi said the Chhattisgarh state and the BJD government birthed at the same time.
“But the plans of both the governments differ drastically. Government of Chhattisgarh has made good use of water by constructing many small and big barrages in PPP mode with zero displacement of people. On the other hand, after ruling the state for 25 years, the BJD government remembered Mahanadi river during the 2017 panchayat elections,” he said adding, the government could not build even a small barrage on the river but is blaming the Centre, government of Chhattisgarh and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to hide its incompetence.
In response, the BJD’s Sanjay Baboo singled out Dharmendra Pradhan, charging him with orchestrating a deliberate campaign against the state’s interests on the Mahanadi river water dispute. Accusing Pradhan of attempting to sow discord for his own political gains, Baboo said, “Everyone is aware how Pradhan in 2018 became an arbiter of Raman Singh government to pave way for his Rajya Sabha entry from Chhattisgarh. He supported all the activities in Chhattisgarh for his own interests and not the soil. Due to his anti-Odisha action, the lives of many, especially the people of Sambalpur have been affected.”
The union minister has never spoken to the government at the Centre about the Mahanadi river issue but conspired to destroy the Mahanadi tribunal. They are just indulging in petty politics instead of focusing on constructive solutions, he alleged.