Rourkela: In good news for Rourkela residents, work on the much-awaited Koel river barrage has finally begun, thus ending the uncertainty over the fate of this vital project. “The work on the barrage has started and it started sometime back,” said Sanatana Sahu, executive engineer of, the Rukuda irrigation project who has the additional charge of Koel River barrage. Already 5 mts foundation work on the upstream cutup point has started, informed the EE. “The work permit was given to two agencies September 21 and work will be completed on the project March 27, 2025. And they will do the work in EPC mode and this includes planning and designing.” The total project cost is Rs 311 crore out of which Rs 4.5 crore is meant for maintenance for the next five years. The Koel barrage became a sentimental issue ever since the foundation stone was laid by CM Naveen Patnaik July 9, 2013, on the bank of Koel near Koelnagar.
This project will solve the water woes of a large area, including Koelnagar, some of the sector areas of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), NIT Rourkela, Jhirpani rural water supply project, Jagda, besides helping in irrigation and also for the new industrial park, which is coming up in Riun and Kacharu areas. It will be of immense help to over a lakh dependent solving their various demands. However, the project got mired in controversy and a big question mark remained hung over its certainty. Even it became a symbol of failure and the step-motherly attitude of the state government towards Rourkela thus causing much discomfort for the BJD here. At one point in time, the project was almost on the verge of cancellation. The plaque, which the CM had laid has even vanished from the pedestal. “I had never lost hope in it because I kept on fighting for the project even though it is not under my constituency. I kept on following it and had never lost hope in it because I have full faith in my leader,” said Minister for Labour Sarada Nayak.
Finally, the project was shifted upstream nearly two kilometres to Hamirpur. The main reason for transferring it to another place was the lack of sufficient government land and also the water storage capacity. “Private land acquisition would have led to many issues so the final decision was taken to shift it to a place where there will be least issues regarding land,” said the minister. The EE speaking about the technicality of the issue explained, “The water storage capacity at its originally planned place was very less and here it is much more.” The height of the barrage is 7 meters. And the width is 7.5 meters. “There are twenty-one barrage gates and eight sluice gates. And the water storage capacity if you look at the area wise then it will extend for more than four kilometres extending upstream. This will definitely help a very large area in irrigation even during peak summer,” said the EE.