Kakatpur: The Water Resources department has decided to dredge the bed of Devi river, one of the principal distributaries of Mahanadi river, to facilitate free flow of floodwater into the sea.
Deposition of silt and formation of sand islets on Devi riverbed in Kakatpur area have been hindering the free flow of floodwater into the sea, sources said.
According to sources in the Water Resources department, around 60 per cent floodwater from Mahanadi flows to the sea through Devi river.
However, massive siltation of Devi riverbed from Kakatpur to the river mouth has affected the free flow of floodwater into the sea. As a result, people in the lower catchment area of Devi river have been facing the possibility of floods for last several years.
It is learnt that the Water Resources department had engaged an expert team from IIT-Madras to conduct a survey on Devi river and suggest measures to avoid floods during rainy season.
The IIT-Madras expert team had suggested the Water Resources department to construct at least 14 spurs near the Devi embankments and dredge the riverbed to facilitate free flow of floodwater into the sea, sources said.
Subsequently, the Water Resources department constructed 14 spurs at different places near Devi river embankments. However, it did not take any step to dredge the riverbed, sources added.
However, the Water Resources department decided to dredge the riverbed after department secretary Pradip Jena inspected the river near Kakatpur, August 15.
Acting upon a direction of Jena, Water Resources department Research and Quality Control unit director Subash Chandra Mishra, Nimapara Division executive engineer Sashibhusan Mishra and Kakatpur Division assistant executive engineer Pratap Chandra Biswal inspected the river, Tuesday.
“We inspected the Devi river to prepare a blueprint for the dredging work. The lower catchment areas will not face any flood-like situation if there is free flow of water into the sea during the rainy season,” Biswal said.