Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik flagged off the second phase of Save Mahanadi campaign (Mahanadi Surakhya Abhiyan) from Sukhasoda village under Lakhanpur block in Jharsuguda district on Wednesday.
The campaign was also launched at Chikili village under Ambabhona block of Bargarh district where a public meeting organised by the party in presence of the Chief Minister, labour minister Susant Singh, handloom, textile and handicrafts minister Snehangini Chhuria, MP Prasanna Acharya and other party leaders.
The rally would pass through 15 districts namely Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Boudh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Jagatsinghpur and culminate at Paradip.
“During the fortnight-long campaign, public meetings, roadside meetings and cultural programmes will be organised in villages and towns on the routes of the rally to make public aware about the conspiracy hatched by the Chhattisgarh government to dry up Mahanadi river”, minister Susant Singh said.
Besides, diyas would be offered to the Lords in all old temples on both sides of the river including Maa Samaleswari in Sambalpur and Lord Gadagadeswar in Cuttack, Singh added.
Addressing a public meeting after launching the campaign at Sukhasoda in Jharsuguda district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “Mahanadi is the lifeline of Odisha, its our mother. We shall not allow Mahanadi to dry up. The BJD will intensify its fight against the conspiracy hatched by the BJP-led Centre and Chhattisgarh government to dry up the river.”
The CM called upon people from all walks of life to actively participate in the campaign make it successful.
