JEYPORE: The Koraput administration will procure four pool skimmer boats from Chillika Development Authority (CDA) to clean wild vegetation and plastic waste from the Jagannath Sagar, the oldest and biggest manmade pond of the State.Two months back, the district administration had decided to clean weeds and wild vegetation from the pond manually. The Minor Irrigation wing and civic body had engaged labourers and JCB machines for 120 days. However, only 10 per cent of the pond area could be cleaned and over 2,000 tonne of weeds was removed then. Later, the officials decided to stall the cleaning process and resume it after procuring pool skimmer boats.
Meanwhile, a committee headed by Koraput Collector KS Chakravarti has decided to engage weed cleaning boats in next few days. The administration would procure four such boats from the CDA. The pond would be cleaned within a month at an expenditure of `40 lakh.According to historians, the then King Ramchandra Dev-II had excavated the pond on a patch of 300 acre by hiring 10,000 labourers in 1716 and the British East India Company accorded tourist destination tag to the pond three years later.
However, due to years of neglect, the pond has shrunk to a large extent.
Water of the pond is also highly polluted. While sewage water of the entire town is released into Jagannath Sagar round the year by the municipality, weeds and water hyacinths cover half the pond. Besides, the pond has shrunk to just 180 acre due to encroachments. The pond was created with an aim of maintaining environmental balance and meeting the water requirements of people of both Koraput and Nabarangpur districts. Its scenic beauty drew a large number of tourists till a few years back.
To cash in on the crowd, the Tourism department had developed parks and garden on both sides of the pond. However, these facilities are badly maintained. A few years back, the Water Resources department had cleaned and renovated the pond but since then, no maintenance work has been taken up. A boating club was also opened in Jagannath Sagar, which was operational for a few years before it was closed down due to non-maintenance of the water body.
Cleaning operation
120 days Labourers and JCB machines engaged
10 pc of the total area cleaned
2,000 tonne of weeds removed
`40 lakh to be spent for the operation
300 acre total area of the pond excavated in 1716
180 acre present area of the pond due to encroachment