Bhubaneswar, Sept. 3: The state government has drawn up a plan to revive the once-mighty Prachi river by capturing and storing water that otherwise goes waste.

The government envisages constructing a barrage at Bajpur at the tail end of the river before it merges with the Bay of Bengal near Konark.

The barrage would divert water from the catchment areas into the Prachi river and store it. This would raise the water level and benefit people living near the river, not just for potable uses, but for irrigation too.

Deputy chairman of the state planning board Surendranath Nayak said: “Now, water flowing from the catchment areas to the rivulet gets wasted as it flows into the sea. The barrage would help store the water that otherwise goes waste. The 120km river will be able to retain water throughout the year.”

Nayak has called a meeting of the engineering wing officials of the water resources department this week to discuss the revival plan.

Nimapara circle executive engineer B.B. Mishra said: “Post revival, the river will be able to irrigate 4,000 hectares. It would also become a major source of drinking water in the area.”

The government also plans to clean the course of the river and make it deeper to recharge the water level.

The ancient river — one of the most revered in the state and a tributary of the Mahanadi — originates in Phulnakhara and flows by Kenduli, the native village of Jaydev, the author of Geeta Govinda. Its name was derived from the word “Prachina” meaning ancient.

However, now it is visible only as a rivulet and is in its death throes. The release of water into the Prachi from the Mahanadi system was reduced to a trickle following construction of embankments on both sides.

Sources said the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) had sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the project and asked the government to prepare a detailed project report. The government has started working on it.

Chief engineer (irrigation) Basudev Mohapatra said: “Among other things, this water can be used extensively for agriculture purposes.”

A vibrant river till the early 40s, the Prachi began choking after its banks were crisscrossed by the national highway system between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar near Phulnakhara. The Prachi can now be noticed as a rivulet originating from a roadside gorge near Phulnakhara. From there, it travels nearly 90km before merging with the Bay of Bengal.

“With many structures encroaching its banks, the river has almost dried up,” said Bhaskar Nayak, a farmer from Phulnakhara.

The river meanders through Cuttack Sadar, Govindpur, Niali, Balianta, Balipatna, Nimapara, Gop and Kakatpur before flowing into the Bay of Bengal near Konark.

“It has the semblance of a river only during the monsoon when it swells because of the rain water,” said another farmer.

The Prachi’s salinity level, too, has gone up because of its proximity to the sea, affecting crops in Kakatpur and other areas around it.

“We are hopeful that once the river’s original flow is restored, the salinity level will go down and plenty of sweet water will be available,” said a villager.

Scholars say the Prachi is one of the major tributaries of the Mahanadi river system. “This is the only river whose name is found in most of the religious scriptures of Odisha. Many old and dilapidated Shiva and Vishnu temples are situated on its banks. Vaishnavite and Shaivaite cultures merged on its banks,” said Prafulla Tripathy, a scholar and historian.

There is a temple of Madhav, another name of Sri Krishna, on the banks of the river. As per legend, sage Mudugul had come across the Madhav statue during a visit to Singhal (ancient name for Sri Lanka). He wanted to bring it back with him but could not. But on his return to Odisha he discovered the statue lying on the banks of river Prachi. The temple was built at the spot where the sage found the statue.