Bhubanesswar: The Congress on Sunday announced that it would carry forward its agitation on the Mahanadi water sharing dispute and accused both the state and central governments of betraying the interests of Odisha.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan told newspersons that the Congress was the first to launch the agitation to demand a tribunal to adjudicate on the dispute.

The party, he said, would shortly announce the next set of its programme on the issue.

Harichanandan demanded that the Chhattisgarh government stop the construction of barrages in the upstream of the Mahanadi immediately before any adjudication or reconciliation over the matter.

Referring to the recent invitation of Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari to the negotiation table, the state Congress chief said it a dilly-dally tactic on part of the Centre to favour BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh. "Gadkari has said the tribunal will be constituted, but after a new law is enacted. That means that the Centre is just buying time," he said.

"The Prime Minister, who is supposed to intervene when there is a dispute between two states, is mum. Perhaps he is silent because Chhattisgarh is going to polls next year."

Quoting information obtained through an RTI application, the Congress leader said the Prime Minister's Office had not done anything on the letter chief minister Naveen Patnaik sent in September 2016 seeking his intervention on the issue.

Harichandan said: "Earlier, the then water resources minister Uma Bharati said that her ministry had no authority to intervene in a dispute between two states."

Besides, there had been no progress in the implementation of the central government's decision to set up a committee to identify illegal constructions in the upstream of the Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh, establishment of a gauge station to measure water flow, conduct of a water balance study by Roorkee-based National Institute of Hydrology and setting up of an expert committee, he said.