Mahanadi Barrage row: Centre will not hamper Odisha’s interests, says Uma Bharti

Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday said that the Central government will not do anything or allow any such things to happen which will hamper the interests of the State as Odisha is very close to her heart.

In replying to the Lok Sabha, Bharti stated that, the State will not be put into any crisis. The water should not be made as a reason for a “fight” rather it should be used as a unifying factor.

“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a slogan of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ (A government with all and for development of all)”.  So we will try to take all the states along.

It came into notice of the Central government only about one and a half months ago, when Odisha CM wrote a letter formally seeking the intervention of the Union Government, said by the Minister of State for Water Resources Sanjeev Kumar Balyan.

A meeting is decided to be held on July 29, where all the issues can be brought to light.

The projects would adversely affect the interests of the farmers of Odisha as Mahanadi contributes the maximum water for irrigation and sustains the livelihood of the farmers of 15 districts, including Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundergarh and Bolangir.

Regarding this issue, the BJD members had also staged a demonstration in Parliament House complex against the barrage project on July 20.