The Saru Gadia pond in ward No. 49. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, April 27: Saru Gadia, a pond in ward No. 49 fed by a natural stream, is in a miserable condition.

Rampant dumping of solid waste by local residents has polluted the water. At present, the flow of the stream is getting increasingly weak as the pond has not been cleaned or desilted for years.

Incidentally, this is the only pond available to the people of BJB Nagar, Sabar Sahi and Kalpana Telenga Basti. The people visit the pond on religious occasions to perform rituals. The statue of Hatiasuni, a Hindu deity, on its banks makes the place all the more sacred for the people.

Local councillor, Amaresh Jena said: “Last time a cleaning operation was undertaken in 1985 with an investment plan of Rs 5 lakh. After that the area has developed and the population grown manifold. However, some extra effort should have been given for the restoration of the stream. The stream, which supplies water to the pond, remains in a corner where growth of weeds has exceeded the limit due to dumping of wastes.”

Rajkishore Das, a resident of Sabar Sahi, said not just the point where the stream flows, but the outlet to drain out the extra water from the pond is filled up with waste. As people from nearby areas depend on the pond for rituals related to deaths, the surrounding areas should remain clean, but that never happens. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has privatised cleaning service through a non-government organisation in the ward and they should have a definite strategy for the pond.

Jena also added that due to the religious importance and the formation of the water through a natural stream, a proposal was also given to the BMC authorities to allocate funds through the additional central assistance scheme. “However, no fund had so far been allocated for the revival of the important water body of our area,” said Jena.

The natural drainage channel No. 6 flows near the water body. The barricade separating the drainage channel and the water body should be strong as there is a chance of contamination of the water through the waste flowing in the channel.

“To stop any possible danger from contamination, the revival programme of the natural drainage channel should be taken up as early as possible,” added Jena.