Pattamundai: A number of encroachments on Gobari riverbed by influential people under Pattamundai civic limits in Kendrapara district have pushed the river to the brink of disappearance.
Moreover, an ambitious plan to unite nearly 20km-long Gobari river with Brahmani has been suffering from apathetic attitude of the district administration and it has been fast turning into a ‘dead river’.
According to a source, Gobari River has been losing its water-retention capacity owing to the large-scale encroachments on its banks. The encroachments are more in the towns than in rural areas.
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A public interest litigation (PIL) pertaining to the river union plan was filed by a local outfit with National Legal Services Authority (NLSA). The movement was further fuelled after Malaya Kumar Pradhan, judge of Kendrapara District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) filed a miscellaneous case (No.-10/2021) in this regard, a few months ago.
Pradhan had also ordered the chief engineer of Kendrapara Irrigation department to take necessary steps pertaining to union of rivers.
In the meanwhile, many people have encroached on Gobari riverbed. Locals have demanded to make the river encroachment free and unite it with Brahmani, in order to save it from extinction.
PNN