Bhubaneswar, July 3: Three years on, the state government is yet to do anything substantial on implementing a master plan for the revival of the Gangua nullah, the prime drainage outlet in the city.
On March 16, 2012, the state government had made a statement in the Assembly in this regard and the then MLA from Bhubaneswar (Ekamra), Ashok Panda, had raised the problems faced by the rivulet, citing reports filed by The Telegraph.
With silt deposition on the channel's bed and encroachments on its embankments throughout the water body from Chakeisiani to Samantarapur on the city outskirts and beyond, the water flow is being hampered. Every year during rains, flood-like situations arise at many places.
Panda's mention had prompted the state government to declare in the House that it was going to develop a master plan for Gangua.
According to the plan, not only the water pollution would be reduced in the channel, but also the water flow would increase during rains with adequate depth in the bed and width by removing encroachments. Departments such as the water resources, housing and urban development and the environment and forests were to work together on the plan.
Highly placed sources in the water resources department said the delay behind implementing the master plan was primarily due to funds crunch. For the project, Rs 400 crore is required only for land acquisition. As the authority has not yet been able to arrange for the funds, the project could not take off.
Former councillor Malay Mohapatra said: "In many places along the rivulet near Old Town and Tankapani, encroachments by the land-grabbers and the real-estate developers have hampered the water flow in Gangua. The civic and development authorities should act immediately."
"We did a detailed technical survey during 2012-13, after which it was found that the level of Gangua and its entire basin and the Daya river were in the right elevation - the rivulet's bed is adequately deep to carry the water load. However, at many places the rivulet's width has become dangerously narrow, either because of encroachments or construction activities adjacent to it," chief engineer of the drainage wing Brundaban Bastia told The Telegraph.
Citing an example, a senior engineer of the drainage wing said: "A bridge built near the Sisupalgarh fort ruins along the National Highway No. 203 near Brahmeswarbagh has rendered the rivulet so narrow that it creates problems for the passage of rain water."
Bastia also said that already the drainage divisions of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack were facing serious problems in getting land for renovation of the storm water channels.
"We'll ask the government to make available land where Gangua has become narrow through the revenue department," he said.
"In case of Gangua, getting land for widening the course of the water body would be very difficult and cost-intensive, because land prices have gone up considerably in the past decade. So, we need to have a detailed land survey first to get an idea of the estimated cost to carry out the work," said an engineer.
