Berhampur, Unprecedented dried up reservoirs and rivers in Ganjam district,this year has revived the demand for linking of rivers flowing in southern region.Sudhansu pati,senior advocate and president of Berhampur citizens forum said,due to frequent siltation of rivers,the river beds at most places reached almost land level.As a result of which they failed to store the water,which flows to sea.He said due to continued siltation,the flow of Rushikulya river,life line of Ganjam district started reducing since around a decade back and this year reached at a alraming stage,as its flow turned into a narrow line.Not only Rushikulya,also the other major rivers and reservoirs in the southern region dried up,which hinted a serious situation during the ensuing summer.He said in 2004 proposals for Vansadhara-Rushikulya linking through Harabhangi project,linking of Nagavali-Vansadhara-Rushikulya,linking of Rushikulya-Mahanadi was under active consideration of Odisha govt.But the proposals remained in files.The proposals not only to meet the water scarcity,also to control the flood as well drinking water supply.Advocating for the linking of Vansadhara with Rushikulya,Pati said,if the rivers linked drinking water woes across Ganjam and Gajapati districts would be solved,besides will provide adequate irrigation facilities.Since,Rushikulya river,drying up completely during the summers,there has been long standing demand for linking Rushikulya with the Mahanadi river to ensure perennial water flow.Despite several demonstrations and agitations advocating for these river-linking projects during the tenures of earlier governments,the proposals remain unimplemented,he fumed.Incidently,during the 2000 and 2004 elections,the BJD-BJP coalition government had highlighted these projects.At that time,Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who held the Water Resources portfolio, and Ravi Nanda, then Jeypore MLA and Deputy Minister for Water Resources, had initiated surveys for the Vansadhara-Rushikulya link. The foundation stone was laid near Gudari in Rayagada district for the project on the bank of Vansadhara.Two decades later, the project remains stuck at the foundation-laying stage.Even,there was proposals to channel Vamsadhara water to the Padmanadi near Adava in the Gajapati district,but later the proposal was modified and merged with Vansadhara-Rushikulya,as it was decided to enhance irrigation facilities in several villages,including Sheragada to Hinjili. However,the proposed plan has not materialised,said a retired chief engineer on the condition of not to be quoted.Meanwhile,BJP MP of Berhampur,Pradeep Panigrahy, has took the initiation and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,urging him to take steps for speedy implementation of the proposed linkage of the Rushikulya with Mahanadi.Panigrahy,viewed that the linkage of the two rivers will not only create irrigation potential in Ganjam, Nayagarh and Khurda districts but also mitigate the drinking water problem in these areas, particularly in the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC).He said,the people of Ganjam district depend on the 165-km-long Rushikulya river and its tributaries for drinking water,irrigation and other activities.But,Rushikulya remains dry for six to seven months every year.The MP said the linkage of the two rivers was a long-standing demand of the people of Ganjam.Similarly former deputy speaker of Odisha state Assembly and senior BJP leader Ram Chandra Panda had urged former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the project.Panda had launched a week-long ‘Jala Sanjog Yatra’ in 2010 from Kasinagar in Gajapati district to Bhubaneswardemanding the linkage of the rivers by constructing a dam at Daspalla in Nayagarh district.Echoing the demand of MP,Panigrahy,Panda said Vajpayee had assured him to consider the proposal.Even,National Water Development Agency (NWDA) had reportedly prepared a report on the linkage of these two rivers. But the project has not made much progress so far,Panda said.Under the linkage project,the surplus water of Mahanadi will be diverted to Rushikulya by constructing a separate barrage,said Panda.He is hopeful that the proposal of MP,Panigrahy would be considered by Prime minister on the larger interest of rhe people.
