Kendrapara: With water drying up in the Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani rivers, its tributaries and distributaries running through Kendrapara district are also in peril. As winter sets in, people are now staring at an acute water crisis in the district, sources said Tuesday. Animals at Bhitarkanika National Park will also be deprived of fresh water if the situation persists, they added.
Locals pointed out that the agriculture sector will suffer terribly due to the lack of water. People will also not be able to attend to their daily chores as all the seven tributaries flowing under Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani river systems in Kendrapara district will also dry up. Educationist Bhuban Mohan Jena, social activists Sunil Kumar Gantayat, Pratap Kumar Tripathy, Banambar Sahu and Pradip Kumar Pradhan expressed their concerns over the water crisis. They laid the blame on faulty river water management. They asserted that the Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments should immediately resolve the Mahanadi dispute for greater interests of both the states. They also blamed mindless lifting of water for industrial use and establishment of a number of irrigation and drinking water projects for the present crisis.
With Kendrapara district being on the downstream of the Mahanadi, this water crisis will only grow, the intellectuals pointed out. They said that unless the water problem is sorted out it may affect the establishment of the proposed steel plant and a riverine port project in the district. The intellectuals also added that flow of water to Bhitarkanika will decline after construction of a barrage on the Baitarani in Jajpur district. The industrial plants at Kalinganagar in neighbouring Jajpur district also use river water.
Over 120 cusecs of water are lifted from Brahmani and Kharasrota river by 10 industrial units in Kalinganagar. IDCO has installed a high-powered pump on the Brahmani river mouth at Pankapal to lift water for the industrial units.
Locals pointed out that in the days to come the dependency of industrial plants on Brahmani for water will only increase. Companies like Mesco Steel, Maithan Ispat and other industrial units will use river water to run their plants. The state government has sanctioned projects on the Brahmani and Kharasrota for supplying clean drinking water to 280 villages in Binjharpur, Jajpur, Korei and Rasulpur blocks.
Once these projects are completed, additional supply of water will be required to keep them running. This can also lead to water shortage. The groundwater level in the district is also at an all-time low, sources informed. A survey by the Central Groundwater Board has indicated that the Brahmani river will require over 3,000 cubic metres of extra water in the next three decades. Otherwise there are chances it will dry up.