Bhubaneswar, Sept. 20: The ongoing controversy over construction of dams in the upstream of Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh is likely to dominate the proceedings of the monsoon session of the Assembly commencing tomorrow.

While the Opposition Congress and BJP are training their guns on the BJD government for its failure to protect the interests of Odisha, the BJD is readying itself to counter the attack.

"Our main issue will be Mahanadi," said leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra.

On the other hand, to embarrass the Centre and the BJP, the BJD will raise the Mahanadi and Polavaram issues while reiterating its resolve to fight for the state's interests. "We will take up serious issues such as Mahanadi and Polavaram and curtailment of crucial development funds by the Centre," said chief minister Naveen Patnaik, after presiding over the BJD Legislature Party meeting this afternoon to chalk out counter-strategies.

The Mahanadi issue has snowballed into a major political issue in the state with Congress and BJP attacking the BJD government for its failure to protect the state's interest and indulging in cheap gimmicks to derive political mileage keeping the coming panchayat polls in view. Mishra had convened an all-party meet on the issue on August 3, which was boycotted by the ruling BJD.

Naveen and his party, however, are trying hard to drive home the point that the government was "leaving no stones unturned" to protect the state's interests. While the ruling party has been organising rallies to drum up public support in its favour and against the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh government at the Centre, Naveen convened an emergency meeting of the state cabinet on Sunday after the tripartite meeting on September 17 in New Delhi failed.

In another development, a PIL seeking direction to the Centre to constitute a water dispute tribunal for resolving the dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over Mahanadi waters has been filed in Orissa High Court. The court has posted the matter after a week for hearing along with the reply of the state government.

The BJD has been also making efforts to mobilise public opinion against the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh. The party, which staged a demonstration last week in front of Raj Bhavan over the issue, took out rallies in all the seven southern districts today.

"Some 6,818 people in 25 villages of Malkangiri district will be affected by the Polavaram project, which has been accorded national project status by the central government flouting the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders. This project is anti-people as no 'palli-sabha' has been conducted. It has been imposed upon the people of the area," said Odisha finance minister Pradip Amat.

Ajit Jogi's Chhattisgarh Janata Congress, which opposed the BJD's move on Mahanadi, today supported BJD's agitation against Polavaram, with BJP alleging that the party was "hand in glove" with BJD.

BJD spokesman Pratap Keshari Deb, however, denied the allegation, saying that there was no secret understanding between the two parties.

Apart from Mahanadi and Polavaram, the Opposition may raise issues such as malnutrition deaths at Nagada, killing of civilians in Kandhamal and the alleged demand of money by four BJD MLAs from industrial houses to facilitate industrial projects in their constituencies, during the eight-day-long session.