Jajpur: Dams, barrages and inland storage structures (ISS) will soon be equipped with automatic gates that would help in achieving the target of additional irrigation and aid in flood control measures, a report said. Most of rivers like Baitarani, Brahmani, Birupa, Mahanadi, Kharasrota and their distributaries experience floods almost every year due to lack of proper and permanent flood mitigation measures. Though the state government has constructed dams and some river embankments as part of flood control measures, water from swollen rivers during heavy rains continue to inundate vast tracts of lands and human habitats year after year.
In a latest development, the state Water Resources department has planned to build automatic gates in dams, barrages and ISS in the state. The objective behind the construction of the automatic gates is to ensure timely discharge of floodwaters, mitigate floods and increase the water retaining capacity of the dams and related projects. Gates will also be installed in dams that don’t have any. Funds worth Rs 239.60 crore will be spent on the construction of gates in gateless dams in the next three years and Rs 80 crore for the construction of automatic gates in the next four years, an official of the Water Resources department said. According to a notification issued by the department, the automatic gates, when constructed, will help in control of floodwaters in downstream during the period of incessant rain.
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In the first phase, 76 gates of 14 dams, 153 gates of 10 barrages and 344 gates of 27 inland storage structures will be converted into automatic gates. These gates can be controlled mechanically through high-powered equipment that will help in proper control and functioning of unsafe gates in the dams and barrages. This will also help in reduction of human errors and assist in protection of dam officials, a report released by the department said. The scheme will be executed from the financial year 2024-25 to FY 2027-28 at an expenditure of Rs 80 crore.
Similarly, gateless dams, once fitted with gates, will help in increasing the complete water retaining capacity of the reservoirs and in maintaining the maximum water levels in the dams. As a result, the excess water stored can be used for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes. The project will help create 124 million cubic metres of additional water storage facilities in 12 medium irrigation projects and 47 minor irrigation projects. The move will also help in the irrigation of 19,097 hectares of land and additional irrigation facilities in 2,750 hectare of land. The proper control of water levels in the reservoirs will help in removing water scarcity in the state.