Bilaspur: In a statement that is certain to be contested by Odisha, the senior-most engineer of the Water Resources department in Chhattisgarh today asserted that there would be no impact on Odisha if barrages are constructed in the upper reaches of River Mahanadi.
“During monsoon season, the volume of water released by the Chhattisgarh government from upper Mahanadi is about 5-6 times the capacity of the Hirakud dam,” HR Kuttari, Engineer-in-Chief (EIC), Water Resources, Chhattisgarh, told media persons after a marathon meeting with the BJD fact-finding team in Bilaspur today.
Asked about the ongoing dispute between the two states over sharing of Mahanadi water, he said the Chhattisgarh government has informed the Central Water Commission (CWC) about the need for constitution of a joint control board.
Talking about the release of water during the non-monsoon season, he said the CWC has given the data on the basis of the water flow at Basantpur barrage.
On the Kelo dam project, Kuttari said the Chhattisgarh government has given a detailed project report (DPR) before the construction of the dam.
Meanwhile, after an elaborate meeting with senior officials of the Chhattisgarh Water Resources department in the morning, the BJD fact-finding team is scheduled to visit other barrages later in the day.
The team had visited Kelo dam, Seorinarayan barrage and Arpa-Bhaisajhar barrage yesterday.