Bhubaneswar, Nov. 7: BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said the state government would move the court to resolve the Mahanadi water dispute as its Chhattisgarh counterpart had not stopped construction of barrages in the river upstream despite protests.

The party today also announced that it would launch a signature campaign across Odisha from November 11 to save the Mahanadi river. Signatures will be collected from 83 lakh families and later sent to the President to seek his intervention in the matter. It will also organise a 450-km-long human chain from Hirakud to the Bay of Bengal in Paradip, where the river meets the sea.

Announcing the Save Mahanadi campaign, Naveen accused the Centre of not taking the issue seriously. "Even though we had urged the Centre to resolve the issue, it extended silent support to the Chhattisgarh government due to its political affiliation. I also raised the issue with the Prime Minister," he said, adding that Odisha was yet to get a reply from the Prime Minister.

Stating that the Mahanadi was the life line of Odisha, Naveen said: "Mahanadi is like river Ganga for us. No one can deprive us of its water," he said.

Naveen also did not spare the Congress and referred to its role in promoting the contentious Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh even though it would adversely affect areas in Odisha. "It was the Congress government at the Centre which had released maximum money for the Polavaram project. The central government has accorded national project status to the Polavaram. The Centre turns a deaf ear to the genuine grievances of Malkangiri's tribal people, who will be affected by the project," he said.

Controversy erupted today in the party's preparatory meeting to chalk out plan for the Save Mahanadi campaign as BJD vice-president Damodar Rout declined to sit on the dais along with chief minister and other senior leaders.

Though some senior leaders urged Rout to come to the dais, he refused saying he had pain in his knees. However, party sources said Rout was upset with the leadership as he was not allowed to take part in the debate on Mahanadi during the monsoon session of the Odisha Assembly.