Members of Brahmani Banchao Sangathan stage a protest in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 24: Members of the Brahmani Banchao Sangathan today staged a protest demonstration in front of the Assembly demanding immediate steps by the state government to improve the condition of the Brahmani river.

Slamming the state government for favouring the industrial houses, Bari MLA Debashis Nayak said the situation was getting worse with time owing to the government’s apathy. “I had raised this matter before and I will raise it again in the ongoing Assembly session to draw the government’s attention,” he said.

At present, Brahmani, the second largest river of the state, is facing water scarcity. The situation is even grimmer in a 60km stretch between Kantabandha and Kaipada as the river has almost dried up and lost its periniality owing to sand deposition.

Their demands include the cleaning and renovation of the riverbed from Kantabandha and Kaipada and ensuring the function of the Jokadia barrage on the river. The association has also demanded to raise the barrage height by three metres, so that the river gets enough water.

“The scarcity of water has affected nearly 4,00,000 people living at 80 panchayats of four blocks in Jajpur. The areas, which have witnessed frequent floods, are struggling to meet with the water demand of people,” said Manindra Samal, a retired educationalist and convener of the Sangathan.

The association alleged that the state government had been keeping silent on the issue though the members had met with officials of the water resources department several times. “We have been raising the issue since last year and conveyed the same to officials of the water resources department, but nothing has been done so far. The department has not yet taken any initiative for the survey work,” said Loknath Das, convener of the Sangathan .

The association raised concerns, as this would affect the people depending on agriculture. “The state government is laying importance on irrigation, but without reviving the blocked rivers it is not possible,” said Gagan Bihari Jena, another convener of the Sangathan. The Brahmani river had lost its water stream owing to the construction of the Rengali dam, he said.

The river flows through 400km before it merges with the Bay of Bengal at Chandabali. The catchment area of the river is 22,000sqkm and receives a rainfall of 1,200mm to 1,600mm annually.

Demanding immediate steps from the State government to improve the condition of Brahmani river, people under the banner of “Brahmani Banchao Sangathan” today staged a protest demonstration in front of the Assembly.

Slamming the State government of favoring the industrial houses, Bari MLA, Debashis Nayak said that the situation is getting worse day by day due to apathy of the government. “I had raised this matter before and I will raise it again in the ongoing assembly session to draw the attention of the government,” he added.

Currently the second largest river of the state is facing serious water scarcity. The situation is even grimmer in a 60-kilometer stretch in between Kantabandha and Kaipada as the river has almost dried up and lost its periniality due to deposition of sand.

Their demands include cleaning and renovation of river bed of Brahmani from Kantabandha and Kaipada and ensuring the function of “Jokadia” barrage, which was built on this river. The association also demanded to raise the height of the barrage by three meters so that the river will get enough water.

“The scarcity of water has affected nearly four lakhs of people living in 80 panchayats of four blocks of Jajpur district. Once the areas which had witnessed frequent floods is now struggling to meet with the water demand of people,” said Manindra Samal, a retired educationalist and convener of the Association.

The Association also alleged that the State government is keeping silent on the issue though they have met with the officials of water resources department for several times. “We have been raising the issue since last year and conveyed the same to the officials of water resources department but nothing has been done so far. Even the water resources department had not taken any initiatives for survey work,” said Loknath Das, convener of the Association.

The association also raised deep concerns, as this will affect the people depending on agriculture. “ The state government is laying importance on irrigation but without reviving the blocked rivers it is not possible,” said Gagan Bihari Jena, another convener of the association. He also explained due to construction of “Rengali” dam the Brahmani River has lost its water stream.

The river flows through 400 kilometers of area before it merges with the Bay of Bengal at Chandabali. The catchment area of the river is 22000 square kilometers and receives a rainfall of 1200 to 1600 milimeters of rain annually.