File picture of the flooded district headquarters hospital in Baripada

Baripada, Nov. 7: Residents of the town have demanded a proper drainage plan for the four tributaries of Budhabalanga river to keep flood threats at bay.

The area experienced unprecedented floods last month following Phailin and the subsequent rain.

The Jarali, Sarali and Sankhajori rivers from eastern side of the town and Chipat from the west bring in rain water into Budhabalanga. Encroachment on the banks of the small rivers hinder the flow of rainwater.

Also, sand deposits on the bed of Budhabalanga at the Sunamuhin confluence, where Jarali, Sarali and Sankhajori join the bigger river and Budharaula Mutt, where Chipat meets Budhablanga, are causing serious problem. The main riverbed remains at a higher level than the water level of its tributaries and this is causing problems in the flow of water from the tributaries into Budhabalanga.

Bibhudutta Das, a social activist, said: “The drainage system of the tributaries of Budhabalanga is not only in bad shape, but there is also no plan to tap the rainwater flowing through the river that originates from Similipal forests and goes straight into the Bay of Bengal after flowing through Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts.”

He said the district administration should propose the state government to have a dam across the Budhabalanga so that it can double up as a flood check dam and a source of irrigation in the district.

“We have already started a survey to identify encroachment of land along the basin of the tributaries of Budhabalanga river. Apart from cleaning the bed of the tributaries and the Budhabalanga, we may suggest diversion of water of the tributaries so that the residential zones are less affected in future. Experts from the water resources department are helping us in this matter,” Mayurbhanj collector Rajesh Prabhakar Patil told The Telegraph.

The collector also said that a dyke would be constructed along the bank of the Budhabalanga in Baripada to protect the town from floods. Survey for the work will start soon.