BJP calls Odisha flood as man-made, blames state govt
BJP calls Odisha flood as man-made, blames state govt
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Bhubaneswar: The Odisha BJP on Sunday accused the state's BJD government of complete incompetence for failing to manage the flood crisis and provide adequate help to the affected people, branding the flood in the Mahanadi river basin as man-made.
Attacking the state government, Prithviraj Harichandan, the state general secretary of the BJP, further referred to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's goal of "zero casualties" as "empty" and stated that the deluge had already claimed the lives of at least six people.
"The state government's incapacity to efficiently control water in Hirakud dam led to the devastating flood in the Mahanadi river system. In Bhubaneswar, Harichandan told reporters that the flood was man-made.
The BJP leader claimed that because of the administration's lack of preparation, people were seriously impacted by the flood. He accused the state government of complete carelessness and mismanagement.
He added that the government's incompetence contributed to the calamity's loss of life and property in various locations, as well as the state's lack of coordination with Chhattisgarh and violation of the "rule curve" in Hirakud dam water management.
He said that the "rule curve" for determining the amount of water storage in the Hirakud reservoir at various periods of the year was created back in 1962, and that the state government ignored the changing situation by doing nothing to appropriately alter it over the years.
"The government disregarded the rules set forth in the rule curve and never bothered to follow them. The people who live in the Mahanadi river basin are seriously threatened by the sluice gates of the Hirakud dam, according to Harichandan.
The BJP leader alleged that even four days after the storm, no relief efforts were made in the affected areas. The flood victims had to go four days without food since the administration did not give them polythene.
He claimed that in addition to the Mahanadi system, other rivers, such as the Baitarani, experienced flooding because the state government failed to take any action to fortify and repair the river embankments.
The BJP leader requested that the BJD government apologise to the state's citizens for its inability to control the flood crisis and adequately aid those affected.
He stated that a long-term strategy for combating the flood crisis must be developed by the state administration.
