Bhubaneswar, July 12: Restoration and renovation work on the historic Bindusagar lake, which began nearly five years ago, is yet to be completed.

Work on the project continues even though the Bhuban-eswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), the executing authority, had set a June deadline.

The restoration work includes erection of boundary walls, bio-remediation of water, diversion of sewage from adjacent colonies, construction of ghats around the lake and illumination. These jobs are yet to be completed.

“We need to build the mutt’s boundary wall before that of the lake,” said a senior BMC official, adding that this was delaying the construction.

The BMC has undertaken the construction work of the mutt wall at an estimated cost of Rs 40 lakh. The state tourism department is funding the work.

Earlier, the proposal was to conduct a bio-remediation work of the lake water, but later, the authorities decided to pump out the entire water. With the monsoon in progress, the water purification process is likely to take some time. The work to illuminate the lake has not been completed.

The revival of water streams such as Dimbiri Jhara and Ganga Jamuna, situated 1km away from the eastern bank of the Bindusagar lake, and connecting them to the water body has also not been done.

“It has been five years since the restoration work was initiated. But the slow pace of work has affected the project,” said Sanjog Dash, a local resident.

Earlier, Bindusagar was included in the National Lake Conservation Plan by the ministry of environment and forest. According to the plan, the lake will be renovated at an estimated cost of Rs 9.37 crore. While Rs 6.1 crore will be made available from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), another Rs 3.35 crore will be funded by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD). Though the corporation has spent more JNNURM funds than allotted, the NRDC money remains underutilised.

Mayor Anant Narayan Jena, however, exuded confidence and said that restoration work was likely to be completed by mid-August.