Mahanadi row: Congress observes bandh in Odisha

The Congress said the Odisha government should take necessary legal action against Chhattisgarh state over the Mahanadi water issue.

Bhubaneswar: The Congress on Tuesday intensified its protests over the Mahanadi water issue by calling a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk Odisha Bandh.

On Monday, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) chief Prasad Harichandan said the 12-hour bandh would be a reprimand to both the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments.

“The firm warning to the states will sort the issue out. We believe the Chhattisgarh government will think over the issue.”

Notably, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had yesterday said after hoisting the tricolour in Bhubaneswar: “The government is making a sincere effort to resolve Mahanadi river water sharing issue and we believe it will be successful.”

Biju Janata Dal's vice president Surya Narayan Patro, meanwhile, said, “To patch up between the different groups in the Congress party, Harichandan has called for a bandh. They (Congress) think people of the State are blind and they don’t know anything.”

BJP general secretary said there is no logic behind the bandh. “They (Congress) should stop political stunts to cover up the intra-party fighting.”

The Congress claims that the state government knew about the construction of the barrage by the Chhattisgarh government since 2001, while it is now claiming that it was not kept in the loop over the projects.