The proposed embankment along river Mahanadi is likely to come up soon as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has agreed to provide funds for the project. It will be constructed from Ring Road near Nelson Mandela Chowk to the confluence point of Haradjoar and river Mahanadi near Shankar Mutt.
Executive Engineer of Water Resources Department, Sambalpur, Sushil Kumar Behera said NABARD has approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed embankment and agreed to allocate requisite fund for the project recently.
He also said some private land will be acquired for construction of the embankment and the land acquisition process will begin soon. The tendering process for the embankment will begin after completion of the land acquisition, Behera added.
The 1,800-metre embankment will prevent water-logging during monsoon. The embankment will prevent the backwater of river Mahanadi from flowing into the city. The detailed project report (DPR) of the embankment has already received green signal by the Technical Advisory Committee of the Water Resources Department to be executed at an estimated cost of `38 crore. The DPR was sent to NABARD for funding recently.
Haradjoar Nullah, which is a tributary of river Mahanadi, and Dhobijoar Nullah, that passes through the city carrying sewage, merge with Mahanadi between Binakhandi and Phaskuda. During monsoon, polluted water of both the nullahs and Mahanadi swell and flows back into the nullahs through the discharge points. The embankment will ensure that water from the nullahs flows into the river downstream near Shankar Mutt instead of the two points at Binakhandi and Shankar Mutt. This will solve the problem of backwater entering the city. Besides, the two permanent water pumping stations commissioned at Binakhandi and Balibandha areas by Odisha Construction Corporation, coupled with the proposed embankment, will provide a permanent solution to water-logging in the city.
