Sambalpur, Sept. 12: The water resources department will build an embankment on the Mahanadi river from the ring road near Nelson Mandela Chhak to the confluence of the Haradjor near Sankar Mutt in the city.

The technical advisory committee has approved the detailed project report for the embankment, which will be around 1,800 metres long. "The project has been estimated at Rs 38 crore. The detailed project report has been sent to Nabard for funding," said the department's executive engineer S. Behera.

The Haradjor, which is a Mahanadi tributary, and the Dhobijor nullah, a major drain of the city, merge with the Mahanadi between Binakhandi and Phaskuda.

However, whenever the river's water level increases, it enters the city through the tributary and the nullahand causes a flood-like situation in the low-lying areas. To prevent it, the embankment would be built.

"After implementation of the project, the water of Haradjor and the nullah will merge with the Mahanadi near Sankar Mutt," said an official.

"The embankment on the Mahanadi with effective pumping arrangement will help reduce the flood-like situation in the low-lying areas of Sambalpur," he said.

The official also said work on high-power pumping station to minimise the flood effect was going on at Binakhandi and Balibandha.

Moreover, another pumping station will be set up at Badbazar. The Odisha Construction Corporation is working on the pumping stations.

Residents have welcomed the move.

"We can now expect to get some respite from the flood-like situation. The concerned department should expedite the process and materialise the proposal as soon as possible," said local resident Kirti Das.

"The Mahanadi water enters into the low-lying areas of the city whenever more than 30 gates remain opened at the Hirakud dam reservoir. Such kind of situation could be checked after the proposal of embankment is materialised," said another local resident, Sanjeev Panigrahi.