Bhubaneswar: Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari's offer for fresh negotiations between Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh to settle the Mahanadi water dispute has sparked off a series of protests in the state.

Leave alone the BJD, even a senior BJP leader and the Congress on Friday attacked Gadkari accusing him of "buying time for Chhattisgarh to complete its ongoing projects on the river."

The BJD, which had rejected the offer on Thursday, on Friday demanded immediate halt to construction activities by Chhattisgarh.

BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra said: "The BJD should have raised the issue more vociferously and lodged a strong protest. The fate of the Mahanadi is now uncertain."

He said: "Odisha has already been hit due to construction activities by Chhattisgarh in the upper stream of the river. The water level in the Mahanadi has started receding near Jobra and Naraj. Next summer, the people of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack may not get water to drink."

Besides fresh talks, Gadkari has also suggested constitution of a river board to settle the issue. "The memorandum of agreement (MoA) between Madhya Pradesh and Odisha (Dt. 27-04-1983) provides a mechanism to resolve the issue through formation of a Joint Control Board. However, no Control Board has been constituted. I appeal to you to initiate early action for formation of the Control Board," he said in his letter to Naveen.

Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said: "The Centre has betrayed Odisha. In the Rajya Sabha, the government had admitted earlier that negotiation between Centre and Odisha relating to the river dispute has failed. And therefore, under the law the central government is bound to appoint a tribunal to settle the dispute."

Mishra said: "The BJP in Odisha also argued for constituting a tribunal. Now, outside the Assembly, the same party outside is taking a different stand on the issue."

Mishra accused the BJD of not presenting its case properly on the Mahanadi water dispute in Parliament.

State BJP spokesperson, Pitambar Acharya said: "The BJD and the Congress appear to be ignoring the interest of the state on the issue. The state government should welcome Gadkari's offer and participate in the talks."