T’gana support to Odisha not a victory: Mishra

BHUBANESWAR:  A day after Telangana extended support to Odisha on the Polavaram dam issue, Congress came down heavily on the State Government for its failure to protect the interest of the State.
Alleging that the State Government is trying to find an escape route on Polavaram, Leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra said, “What is the use of shouting when the Government has failed to get a stay order from Supreme Court on the project.”

Stating that the Government should fight the case in the Supreme Court with all seriousness, Mishra said it does not have any concrete data on what will be the loss and damage on Odisha side because of the construction of Polavaram project. Referring to the agreement between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments on the project, he said AP had assured to raise the height of the wall of the dam to prevent submergence on Odisha side.

A House Committee was formed to visit the spot and find out the extent of the damage and submergence on the Odisha side because of the project. However, the committee remained a non-starter after the Congress members resigned to protest against the politicisation of the issue by the BJD.
Criticising the BJD for politicising the issue, Mishra alleged that the ruling party has never tried for an united fight. “The BJD never sought cooperation from the opposition political parties,” he said. Mishra advised BJD not to consider Telangana’s support as a victory because the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. 

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister K Srihari had extended support to Odisha’s cause on the Polavaram issue during a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat here on Friday. “We have already made our stand clear and we are with Odisha Government as far as Polavaram project is concerned,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Chief Minister had proposed that the Polavaram project can be reformulated as per the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) award without causing large-scale submergence in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister expressed deep concern over the project construction and sought his intervention for not allowing its construction till all the pending issues are settled in the Supreme Court.