Kendrapara: Kendrapara canal which was dug up as a measure to combat the devastating famine known as ‘Na Anka Famine’ in 1866 is dying a slow death. The dry bed of the canal is now only a grim reminder of its glorious past. It was the first and the oldest canal in the state as it used to provide water to the farmlands for irrigation and for transportation of cargoes. The canal is also used to meet the daily water needs of the residents living close to its banks.
However now, the canal cannot even provide water for irrigation of farmlands. Due to the shallow depth of water, boats cannot ply. There was a time when three to four cargo-laden boats used to ply in the canal but now it has shrunk and is only seven metres in width. The canal has now turned into a garbage dump and is the breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies, sources pointed out.
Chittaranjan Das of Bharatpur village under Kendrapara block said that the canal was dug up after the great famine of 1866-1867. The canal originates at Mahanadi Barrage in Jagatpur and ends at Luna River in Marshaghai.
Water was first discharged into the 241-km long canal May 29, 1869. The canal supplied water to the Pattamundai, Jambu and Gobari canals in the district which was then used in irrigation of 11,938 hectares of farmlands. Later the Gobari and Pattamundai canals were expanded so that they could provide water for irrigation to 29 thousand hectares of farmland.
Eighty-year-old Shaikh Musa said that the Kendrapara Canal was also a good source of earning revenue from boats transporting cargoes. He said that there are still some records of revenue collection in the early 1930s. The canal was then used to ferry stones from Barabati for the construction of a lighthouse at False Point. Now, however, it cannot even a small amount of water for irrigation, lamented Musa.
A resident of Ayabar village under Kendrapra block, Birendra Kumar Das said that the canal has shrunk due to large-scale encroachments. He alleged that some unscrupulous persons have filled out portions of the canal and carried out constructions on those plots.
The growth of weeds and water hyacinths from Danput to Kakat Lock for a stretch 50km has prevented the smooth flow of water in the canal. Earlier, residents of over 50 villages including that of Kendrapara town used to use the water of the canal for their daily chores. However, they stopped doing so after developing skin diseases.
A resident of Kendrapra town, Manoj Kumar Singh said the canal when constructed was 140 metres wide, but now has shrunk to seven metres. The reduction of width prevents the flow of water to the farmlands downstream.
When contacted, superintendent engineer Umesh Chandra Sethy of Kendrapara Water Resources department said after the growth of road communication the canal is no more required for marine trade but it is being upgraded to provide irrigation facilities to the farmlands.