Barabati moat silt chokes Mahanadi

BradleyMadly

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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CUTTACK: A whopping 90,000 cubic metre of silt dumped into its bed and more in the offing, the state of Mahanadi river here is bec..

CUTTACK: A whopping 90,000 cubic metre of silt dumped into its bed and more in the offing, the state of Mahanadi river here is becoming grim with each passing day. Already struggling with fast depleting water carrying capacity due to heavy siltation, the river is poised for more problems near the Jobra Barrage, thanks to civic authorities.
Tonnes of silt and mud excavated from the Barabati moat, which is undergoing renovation for transformation into a amusementcumrecreation facility, are indiscriminately dumped by the contractors into the Mahanadi riverbed along the Gadgadia Ghat in the vicinity of the Barrage. The whole area has now been converted into mounds rising to more than eight feet and towering over the Ring Road. With the monsoon beginning to peak, the rising waters would wash away the mounds and further choke the river that is weighed down by heavy siltation. The impact would be felt by people living on the upstream of Cuttack as this could lead to more severe flood incursions in the lowlying areas on the upper reaches.

The embankments on the Mahanadi river system were designed to carry 10 lakh cusecs of water. Now the water flow through the river has been exceeding 12 to 13 lakh cusecs year after year. With no attempt to carry out dredging of the river on the reservoir area of the Jobra Barrage, indiscriminate addition of more silt and soil will eventually spell disaster, experts have warned.

"We have now stepped in to correct the situation. Work has begun to push the silt dumps into the designated spot. The leftovers after the spot comes to the fixed level would be shifted outside. All the expenses on this would be realised by deducting from the payment of the contractors," CMC Commissioner RN Nanda said.

The district administration has also taken note of the developments. "Executive engineer of the Irrigation Department has been asked to provide a complete assessment of the situation," Collector KK Mohanty said.