ROURKELA: Neglected water bodies of Rourkela may soon get a new lease of life. The Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) and Rourkela Smart City Ltd (RSCL) have proposed development of three ponds. The city cuts a sorry figure towards protection and revival of artificial water bodies even as at least six ponds have vanished over the last two decades.
At least half a dozen of public ponds that have dried up due to various reasons, have a huge potential for offering recreational activities. Initially, the RMC and RSCL had included four ponds in action plan for pond management including the sprawling DAV pond of the Dr AN Khosla DAV Public School at Basanti Colony. However, the administration and school management were locked in a court litigation over eight acres of land covering the pond and adjoining space. Similarly, a large pond of South Eastern Railway (SER) at Gopabandhupali of Railway Colony is neglected.
Both DAV and Gopabandhupali ponds draw huge crowd during festivals of Boita Bandhan and Chhat Puja, but they are not regularly cleaned or maintained. “Likewise, ponds at Shantinagar, Tilkanagar, Bondamunda, Uttambasti and another pond between Mahatab Road and Ring Road also need attention, but face jurisdiction hurdles involving SER or Rourkela Steel Plant,” said former chairman of erstwhile Rourkela Municipality Narendra Tripathy.
However, land dispute of the DAV pond has been settled. RMC Commissioner and RSCL Chief Executive Officer Rashmita Panda said cost estimation for work on DAV pond is underway. Tender for the work is likely to be floated by the end of this month. She said two other ponds including the TISCO pond have been included in the pond management proposal. Environmentalists said in urban areas, green buffer zones around ponds without concrete works are natural solutions for effective environment impact and provide better recreational avenues to urbanites.