Bhubaneswar, Feb. 8: The battle over Mahanadi is set to enter a new phase tomorrow with BJD activists gearing up for a jal satyagraha in the river to protest Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh's one-day campaign in the state to drum up support for BJP's panchayat candidates.

The novel protest to be held in Sambalpur and Cuttack, the political nerve centres of western and coastal Odisha where the river is part of people's daily life, would conclude in the evening with a jal arti that would also be symbolic of state's anger and frustration at Chhattisgarh's refusal to stop constructions in the upstream of the Mahanadi.

After standing in waist-deep waters of the river at Sambalpur and Cuttack throughout the day, BJD activists would end the agitation in the evening by offering of lamps to the river.

The dams and barrages being built by the neighbouring state, apparently with Centre's support, threaten to reduce the flow of the Mahanadi water into the Hirakud dam, the largest reservoir over the river near Sambalpur. Mahanadi nourishes more than half of Odisha irrigating fields and caters to the daily needs of people.

With Chhattisgarh refusing to stop constructions, the matter has gone to court and Odisha continues to put pressure on the Centre for the formation of a tribunal to settle the vexed issue. The Centre, though, gave a new twist to the controversy on January 19 by announcing the constitution of a negotiations committee that seeks to broaden the scope of the dispute by examining the claims of not only Odisha and Chhattisgarh, but also Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand on the waters of Mahanadi and its tributaries.

The Odisha government reacted angrily with chief minister Naveen Patnaik not only rejecting the committee and reiterating the state's demand for a tribunal, but also writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 28 urging him to restrain Chhattisgarh from undertaking further constructions in the upstream of the river till the tribunal was formed.

With Mahanadi having strained the relations between the two neighbours, Singh's scheduled campaign in Balangir, Sundergarh and Jharsuguda districts at the invitation of the state BJP tomorrow has raised the hackles of the BJD.

"Raman Singh's scheduled campaign for panchayat polls in the state has hurt the sentiments of people who are shocked and scandalised by his stand on the Mahanadi dispute. The river is facing the threat of drying up with Chhattisgarh carrying out constructions in its upper reaches. We cannot but protest," said BJD spokesperson Shashi Bhushan Behera.

Party's youth wing vice-president Bijay Nayak said Singh's campaign would only add insult to injury. "His attitude has been anti-Odisha, which cannot be tolerated," he said. However, Union minister Jual Oram trashed the ruling party's allegations as political gimmickry and challenged the Naveen government to tell the people of the state what it had done so far to prevent the wastage of Mahanadi waters.

"For the past 17 years of this government, much of the river's water has allowed to flow into the sea. There has been no attempt to store it. Now for the sake of political gains, they are shedding crocodile tears over the issue," said Oram.