Bhubaneswar: Undeterred by the lack of response to his two earlier letters on the matter, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Narasingh Mishra has again urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to attend an all-party meeting convened by him tomorrow to discuss the ongoing row between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over construction of barrages and dams on the upper catchments of Mahanadi.
“Please attend the all-party meeting to be held at 11 AM on August 3, 2016 at Hotel Swosti Premium, Bhubaneswar to discuss about the Mahanadi water dispute,” Mishra said in his letter to the chief minister sent yesterday. He had written to the Chief Minister on the issue twice earlier - first on July 7 and then again on July 25.
In a separate letter addressed to leaders of political parties, concerned organisations and individuals written on Saturday, Mishra had requested them to participate in the August 3 all-party meeting to deliberate on the issue.
In his letter, the LoP had said there is a distinct possibility of a reduction in the flow of Mahanadi water to Hirakud dam and its lower catchment areas due to construction of barrages and dams in the upper catchment of the river, which will pose serious threat to the livelihood of the people of Odisha.
“Considering the gravity of the situation, I had written a letter to the chief minister on July 7 requesting him to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the matter. Leave alone giving a reply, the chief minister did not even acknowledge my letter. Later, I decided to convene an all-party meeting and had requested the chief minister in a letter on July 25 to find a convenient place and time for the meeting. But as I did not get any reply from him, I have decided to hold the all-party meeting at Hotel Swosti Premium in the state capital tomorrow after consulting like-minded friends from all political parties,” Mishra added.
He also requested eminent personalities, NGOs and civil society representatives to attend the meeting.
“I hope we will remain above our political ideologies, decide our future course of action and make concerted efforts to safeguard the interests of our state,” he had pointed out.