Sambalpur: Sambalpur University vice-chancellor Deepak Behera announced on Monday that the varsity would initiate a research project dedicated to Mahanadi river. The research would not be limited to the university lab but involve field-level workers too.

"Proper assessment of water availability and distribution between different priorities is important to understand the challenges and suggest measures to solve them," Behera said at a seminar on 'Building an inter-state co-operation framework for management of the Mahanadi river basin'.

The vice-chancelloe emphasised on resource-mapping involving communities living in the basin to ensure their stake on the river.

Premananda Panda, a teacher, said: "While seeking a solution to the Mahanadi problem, Odisha should have a river-centric approach. Right of a river can be established when people are empowered to use water judiciously."

"Water right is a part of human rights because when a river dies, a civilization dies with it," he said.