Odisha BJP to conduct survey of flood-hit areas
Odisha BJP to conduct survey of flood-hit areas
admin
Bhubaneswar: The state BJP on Wednesday accused the BJD government in Odisha of failing to maintain effective water management in the Hirakud Dam reservoir, blaming it for the current flood scenario in the Mahanadi river basin.
"The state's flood management efforts were a dismal failure. According to Samir Mohanty, president of the BJP's Odisha unit, the government's complete carelessness is to blame for the current state of affairs in the Mahanadi river system.
In a harsh attack on the state administration, Mohanty claimed that during the BJD's 22 years in power, the BJD never bothered to develop a suitable system for managing the water in the reservoir.
The BJP leader claimed that "the state administration and BJD manipulated the Mahanadi river water issue for political purposes simply to mislead the public."
He claimed that the "rule curve" for determining the amount of water storage in the Hirakud reservoir at various times of the year was originally framed in 1962 and later modified in 1984. He claimed that the state government ignored the changing situation for all these years by taking no action to further modify the rule curve.
The Hirakud reservoir's storage capacity was negatively impacted over time by the BJD government's full disregard for a number of causes, according to Mohanty, including climate change, global warming, unusually heavy rainfall, and the deposit of massive amounts of silt.
The government spent its time organising agitation over the river water issue since 2017 rather than concentrating on effective water management in the Mahanadi river system.
Aside from this, he said that the river embankments have weakened and are vulnerable to breaches in several locations, endangering lives, and that the government is currently discussing water management without taking any action to ensure public safety.
Mohanty commented on the government's preparedness for the present flood, saying that choices about rescue, rehabilitation, and relief efforts are still only announced. "The government should make sure that the necessary help reaches the afflicted individuals to lessen their hardship, rather than relying solely on promotion and publicity."
After reaching out to them in the flood-affected areas, BJP activists are now offering assistance to the flood victims, he continued.
