BHAWANIPATNA: FLOOD and river erosion have become the biggest bane for Kalahandi which is blessed with seven important rivers under Mahanadi basin.
Owing to its topography, the district witnesses flood every monsoon and in the absence of permanent protection measures there is massive damage to agricultural lands, human habitations and infrastructure. Besides, there are many vulnerable points in river embankments throughout the district that are yet to be repaired.
Kalahandi has been witnessing floods since commissioning of Indravati project in the 90s. Water released from the project after power generation along with surplus water is released into Hati river which merges into Tel. During heavy rains, additional water leads to flooding in the two rivers along with Udanti, Sagada, Rahul, Ret and Utei rivers that flow into Tel under Mahanadi basin. During monsoon, rainwater of the above-mentioned rivers cannot be discharged into the already swollen Tel.
Frequent flooding over the years has led to erosion of the banks of both Tel and Hati. A large chunk of land on the banks of Udanti river near Turkel has already caved in. Despite this, no tangible steps have been taken by the State Government for strengthening and repair of embankments. As per a survey conducted by Kalahandi Irrigation Division, 123.6 km long river bank of Tel and 89.4 km long bank of Udanti need the construction of embankments for protection from flash flood and sand casting. In the 70s, only 24.26 km embankment of Tel and 22.26 km embankment of Udanti were constructed.
The survey states that there are several vulnerable points in these embankments of Tel and Udanti that need immediate repair and reconstruction. Some of the vulnerable points under Tel embankments are in Amathola and Tamala, Kalam, Pandigaon, Paria near Cheliamal which is the confluence point of Pipal Nullah and Tel river.
Executive Engineer of irrigation Prasanta Kumar Das said in some vulnerable pockets, particularly on the bank of Hati and Belkhandi area on the banks of Tel, unavailability of government land is a major bottleneck.
WATER WORRY
Kalahandi has been witnessing floods since commissioning of Indravati project in the 90s
Water from Indravati is released into Hati river which merges into Tel
During heavy rains, additional water leads to flooding in Hati and Tel besides, Udanti, Sagada, Rahul, Ret and Utei rivers under Mahanadi basin
123.6 km long river bank of Tel and 89.4 km of Udanti need construction of embankments