Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today dubbed as unfortunate the statements of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Union Minister of State for Water Resources Sanjeev Balyan on the Mahanadi river water issue.<br/><br/> Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneswar that the statement of Chhattisgarh chief minister on Mahanadi water issue yesterday is most unfortunate. <br/><br/>Raman Singh had yesterday said Chhattisgarh government would go ahead with the projects despite the stiff resistance put up by the Odisha government.<br/><br/>Singh had said that the Chhattisgarh is taking water after getting nod from the Central Water Commission and nobody can prevent us from going ahead with the construction. Reacting to Singh's statement, Patnaik said the statement violates the cardinal doctrine of inter-state river water sharing between co-basin states.<br/><br/>The Odisha chief minister said Mahanadi is the lifeline of Odisha as it provides livelihood to four crore people of the state. He said as the Mahanadi river is innately connected to our culture and tradition, the people of Odisha cannot ignore its profound contribution and will not allow the river to dry out because of the unilateral and blatant action of the Chhattisgarh government.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, the Union Government has convened a joint meeting between Odisha and Chhattisgarh on July 29 to discuss the sharing of Mahanadi water.