RANCHI: Chief Minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee have resolved to end the Massanjore Dam dispute through official-level meeting.
During Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Kolkata on Monday, Das raised the matter in the presence of Banerjee, an official statement read. The meeting, which was chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was also attended by representatives from Bihar and Odisha.
The statement added that the two chief ministers had agreed on solving the issue through dialogue and for which a meeting of officials from both states would be held soon. The two neighbouring states should work together and assist each other, the statement said.
Nearly two months ago in early August, West Bengal officials reportedly painted the walls of the dam in Dumka district in Jharkhand in colours of white and blue, which are the party colours of TMC.
In retaliation, BJP’s youth wing Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) erased the word ‘Bengal’ from the dam gate and painted the word ‘Jharkhand’. They also painted over the ‘Biswa Bangla’ logo with a Jharkhand symbol.
In fact, the BJP MLA from Dumka and Jharkhand minister Louis Marandi had allegedly threatened to “gouge out the eyes” of anyone who dared to look at the barrage.
Massanjore Dam, popularly known as Canada Dam, was constructed across the Mayurakshi river in 1955. The West Bengal government had built the dam and the state’s irrigation department maintains it.
Source: Press Trust of India