Drinking water project boon for Jharsuguda

Here is some good news for the water stressed district of Jharsuguda. The Housing and Urban Development department has given its approval for drinking water project in Brajrajnagar and Belpahar towns.

JHARSUGUDA: Here is some good news for the water stressed district of Jharsuguda. The Housing and Urban Development department has given its approval for drinking water project in Brajrajnagar and Belpahar towns.

Water crisis is not new for the Western Odisha district which has been experiencing extreme temperature this summer. The presence of coal mines has added to the heat while construction of barrages upstream of Mahanadi had worsened the water crisis in Jharsuguda, Brajrajnagar and Belpahar towns. The decision of the State Government has now given some hope for the people, who have been suffering since decades.
It is learnt that the State Government had submitted a proposal for a greater Jharsuguda Drinking Water Project to the Centre to cater to the needs of the three towns. But it sat over the matter and the project was pushed to the backburner.

In view of the scarcity in Brajrajnagar and Belpahar towns, a project proposal was submitted to the State Government, which has finally received administrative approval. The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) will spend `12,663.3 lakh on the project.

The office of the Engineer-in Chief, Public Health, Odisha has asked the Superintending Engineer, Public Health Circle, Sambalpur to submit a detailed estimate for technical sanction before going ahead with tendering process.

Once commissioned, drinking water will be supplied to the towns directly from Hirakud dam after treatment and filtration. A parallel pipeline for the project will be laid from intake well of the upcoming NTPC Power Plant at Darlipali in Sundargarh district. The intake well is being constructed at Chhadarama in Lakhanpur block.

Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) Executive Engineer Karunakar Sahu said the target is to complete the project by 2019 ending the water woes of residents of Brajrajnagar and Belpahar towns.

Similarly, in areas under Jharsuguda Municipal limits, out of 24 wards, only nine wards have water connection. In the rest of the wards, water is supplied through tankers.
An initiative of MLA Naba Kishore Das, the project is estimated to cost `53 crore. A Hyderabad-based firm has been awarded the tender.

Water will be drawn from river Ib and supplied through pipelines after treatment at a plant at Hansapali to be developed over 10 acres of land. Two underground sumps  will be constructed at BTM and Sarbahal areas for storage.

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