Dhamnagar: Jagusagar, a sprawling historic water body at Dhamnagar Bazaar in Bhadrak district, will get a facelift as the government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the purpose. Bhadrak MP Manjulata Mandal has sent a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, intimating him about the need for renovation of one of the oldest water bodies in the state. The sprawling pond is under the fisheries department. Over years, the pond has been given short shrift due to departmental apathy. As a result, parts of the pond have been encroached upon, it was alleged. Buildings are being raised around the pond. There is no let-up in land grabbing around the pond, which is chocked with weeds, hyacinth and bushes.
Its water is also getting polluted. “It is going to lose its existence soon,” the locals lamented. It was in 2018 when former MLA Muktikanta Mandal had sent a proposal to the then Fisheries minister, seeking renovation of the water body. The MP had recently visited Dhamnagar where local people and members of citizens’ forum had urged her for its renovation. The MP said that the state government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore while there is a proposal to sanction Rs 2 crore for the renovation of the pond. It was also learnt that the pond area will be demarcated and official records will be prepared before the renovation starts.