Opposition BJP Thursday blamed the BJD government for its alleged inept handling of floods and relief operations and demanded that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tender his apology to the people of Odisha with ”folded hands”. The BJP has prepared a chargesheet against the state government which claimed that the recent floods in Mahanadi and Subarnarekha river systems were completely “man-made” and was a result of gross mismanagement by the government. BJP state general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan told a press conference that the charge sheet was based on the party’s report from ”ground zero” and alleged that the state government has completely failed to manage the flood both in the upper and lower catchment areas of Mahanadi river which submerged a large portion of the state.
“No government has the right to put people in trouble for no fault of theirs. Therefore, the chief minister should tender apology with folded hands to the people for his government’s inept handling of flood,” he said. Senior BJD MLA S B Behera rejected BJP’s allegation and said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had given clear instruction for relief operation and damage assessment. “If the Opposition ignores all these efforts, we have nothing to say,” Behera said.
Keeping up his criticism, Harichandan alleged that the coordination meeting between Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments, which was agreed to be held twice a year during the pre-monsoon period, has not been conducted in the past three to four years.
Holding the government responsible for ”lack of sincerity”, BJP in its ‘chargesheet’ said that when the engineer-in-chief of water resources department initially said that there is no possibility of flood in Mahanadi, the minister concerned had said there will be a light to medium flood. Later, the special relief commissioner had said there will be high flood.
“These statements issued by the authorities show the lack of seriousness on the part of the government during flood and subsequent relief operation management,” Harichandan said.
Besides, the Rule Curve created for flood management at the Hirakud reservoir was not followed properly and the people had to face devastation as a result of it, he said.
The BJP leader also blamed the state government for failing to get proper information on discharge of water by Chhatisgarh for which the people suffered. ”The government cannot escape by blaming Chhatisgarh”.
The chargesheet claimed that the people in the marooned villages had to starve till Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made an aerial survey and announced 15-day relief for the flood affected people of the Mahanadi basin.
”The people were pushed to misery by the government. It is the government which must be blamed,” he said adding it had failed to follow manual of the flood management policy prepared by the National Disaster Mitigation Authority.
The charge sheet was prepared by a BJP team led by former revenue and disaster management minister Manmohan Samal after touring different flood affected areas.
Behera rejected BJP’s allegation and claimed that the state government was all along with the people of Odisha during natural calamities – be it flood or cyclone.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has given clear instruction for relief operation and damage assessment. “If the Opposition ignores all these efforts, we have nothing to say,” he added.
