Even as the State government was taking up the Mahanadi water dispute with the Centre, the ruling Biju Janata Dal on Thursday announced to a grand plan to capitalise on the issue ahead of the gram panchayat elections in the State.
At a press conference here, senior leaders of the BJD announced that they would organise a human chain from Hirakud to Paradip, and also launch a signature campaign across the State and collect signatures from 87 lakh families on the issue.
The date for the human chain would be decided at a party meeting to be held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on November 7, they said.
The signature campaign would be aimed at registering protest against construction of dams and barrages over the Mahanadi by the Chhattisgarh government.
BJD Rajya Sabha Member Prasanna Acharya alleged that the Centre was cooperating with Chhattisgarh in expediting the ongoing projects upstream of Hirakud reservoirs in the neighbouring State thereby hampering Odisha’s interest.
The Chief Minister had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the matter, but no response had been received yet, Mr. Acharya added.
