Bhubaneswar, April 25: The civic body has drawn up plans to conserve five peripheral tanks of Bindu Sagar located at Old Town.

While Bindu Sagar dates back to the 7th or 8th century and is a heritage site, historians have accorded similar status to the five ponds - the Devipadahara, Kotitirtha, Godipokhari, Ganga Jamuna and the Godavari Kund. These water bodies date back to the 8th century to the 14th century. Local people's religious sentiments are attached with these tanks as during festivals such as boita bandana and others, they perform an array of rituals here.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has partnered with Water and Power Consultancy Services Limited to take up the job of restoring and conserving the ponds.

"The expert body of the private partner had on Sunday made a field visit to the ponds and will begin the work shortly," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

After the field visit, experts pointed out issues such as lack of sewerage network and storm water network in the ponds. They also stressed the water pollution because of the release of household wastewater into the tanks. The shrinking marshy land around the water bodies also raised concerns.

The team also conducted a survey and found that there were 33 types of plant, 10 shrubs, 37 herbs, 12 grasses, three climbers and four wetland varieties present in these water bodies.

Speaking of the nature of the project, the mayor said: "The project is based on the observations from the ecological and heritage perspective of the water bodies."

But unlike the previous attempts, the corporation this time is going to involve the local communities in the pond renovation project. "We have also taken inputs from the local communities and will involve them as major stakeholders to play a proactive role in the project," he said.

Jena emphasised on community participation to ensure an integrated development of the water bodies, so that all annual religious activities at Lingaraj Temple may be organised here with much fanfare.

"The historic water bodies play a vital role in our life. Many people have religious sentiments attached to the ponds. The civic body had made efforts in the past, but failed. I hope that they will succeed this time," said Old Town resident Bikram Hota.