Bhubaneswar: Mounting a stinging attack on Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government, BJP leader and Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on Tuesday alleged that the state is facing a severe water crisis because of its negligence and inefficiency.
Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, Mahtab claimed that the people of the state are deprived of safe and pure drinking water because of negligence on the part of the Naveen Patnaik government.
Stating that four major rivers in north Odisha have dried up, he said Mahanadi river water has become unfit for drinking, while the water level of Hirakud dam reservoir is dropping alarmingly.
Coming down heavily on the ruling BJD, the Parliamentarian claimed that the state government is providing water to industries when priority should be given to meet drinking water requirement of the people and then agriculture. The need of industries can be addressed later, he said.
Noting that Narendra Modi government at the Centre has provided Rs 10,000 crore in the last five years for providing safe drinking water to the people, Mahtab claimed that the Odisha government has failed to utilise the funds for water conservation and supply.
Residents of Cuttack are facing severe water crisis though the city is located on the banks of river Mahanadi as the BJD government has failed to take necessary steps for proper water utilisation.
While outbreak of diarrhoea was reported in Sambalpur, jaundice cases have surfaced in Cuttack due to inefficiency and misgovernance on the part of the BJD government in the state, the BJP leader claimed.
If BJP is voted to power in Odisha it will take concrete measures for supply of safe drinking water to all in the state, apart from meeting the requirement of the farm as well as industrial sectors, he added.
