Pattamundai: Gobari river, which was the lifeline of Kendrapara district once upon a time, is inching towards extinction and urgently awaiting revival. What is left of the Gobari river now is only a grim reminder of its glorious past, gasping for survival.
There was a time when the Gobari river used to be a blessing for the farmers as it irrigated all the farmlands in nine panchayats. Farmers in these panchayats used to reap a bumper harvest by cultivating various vegetables and paddy during the Rabi season on their farmlands.
The river had a deep connection with the life and livelihood of people. People used to finish their daily chores in the river, used its water for drinking and irrigating their farmlands. This had brought a rare distinction for the river as it came to be known as the lifeline of residents in Kendrapara district.
However, with change in time, the river which flows through five panchayats of Pattamundai block and Pattamundai Municipality area, has now gone out of shape as it has been buried with wild grass and weed at various places. This is because people in the local market and villages are dumping all sorts of wastes in the river. This has angered the residents as the state government is not making any serious effort for its revival.
Originating from the perennial Brahmani river, the river flowed for over 30 km and finally merged with Bay of Bengal. Decades back, Gobari was also a perennial river like Brahmani and helped in transportation of goods and passengers on boats.
However, bad days arrived for Gobari when the connecting channel of Gobari and Brahmani rivers was blocked during the construction of CuttackChandbali road in 1860. This hindered free flow of water into Gobari river which aided deposition of silt in the river.
Meanwhile, the river is now lying buried for a stretch of 16 km from Pattamundai to Gandakia. This has led some unscrupulous persons to encroach on the water body and construct houses on the riverbed. As a result, thousands of acres of farmland on both sides of the river are now lying uncultivated due to lack of irrigation. This has severely affected the social and economic growth of people.
The attraction for agriculture among the people began to wane as people migrated to other states in search of livelihood.
The river has now lost its identity due to lack of awareness among the riparian villagers and apathetic attitude of the departmental authorities. The state government and the district administration are aware of the situation but have yet to take any step in this regard. A few years back, efforts were made for its restoration but soon the project was abandoned.
Farmers in the district are demanding for revival of the river but their pleas are yet to be addressed.
When contacted, drainage engineer Nihar Routray said the higher authorities have been apprised of the issue and work for the revival of the river will start after receiving the approval from the concerned authorities.
PNN