Jeypore: Finally, the historic Jagannath Sagar at Jeypore town of Koraput district is going to get a new lease of life, fulfilling the long-standing demand of the locals. Jagannath Sagar, the oldest and largest man-made lake of the state, was dug by royals of Jeypore 300 years back to meet the drinking water and irrigation needs of Jayanagar area.
It was originally spread across 300 acres but over the years, it shrank to only 55 acres, thanks to rapid urbanisation and rampant encroachments. Moreover, it has turned into a dumping ground and now it is full of solid waste and effluents discharged from various sources of the Jeypore town.
The district administration and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the makeover of the sprawling pond at an expenditure of `7 crore in three years. Koraput Collector Abdaal M Akhtar took stock of the project Wednesday. He discussed with officials about development of the pond from near Panchanana temple.
The Collector directed executive officer of the Jeypore Municipality Siddhartha Pattnaik to make an estimate for the development of a park, installation of chairs, construction of pavements and a café near the pond. As per the MoU, HAL will spend `7 crore for the renovation of the historic water body in three phases from its corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.
The public enterprise will spend `1 crore in the first year (2022-23) and `3.50 crore the next year and `2.50 crore in the final year. Jeypore civic body will implement the development project by floating tenders. In the past, local MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati had assured the Jeypore residents that `100 crore would be spent on renovation and development of the massive water body.
The MLA said that the water body and its periphery will be transformed into a major tourist spot in the district. Last week, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra had reviewed the Jagannath Sagar project and directed the administration for further development. He revealed that the state government has already sanctioned `10 crore for the project to be developed as a tourist destination.
It will be given a complete relook to attract visitors as Jeypore Municipality has undertaken a massive cleanliness of the water body February 18. Locals had been drawing attention of the district administration towards the issue as the water body is a big draw for tourists.
Last year, Nalco had assured to provide `1 crore for the lake’s beautification under its peripheral development funds