ROURKELA: Odisha government has approved three in-stream storage structures on Ib and Safei rivers with an aim to address the drinking water woes of Sundargarh town. The move comes in the backdrop of a low height bridge-cum-barrage proposal of the Water Resources department on Ib river at Kopsingha staring at uncertainty since 2013.
Former MLA of Sundargarh Assembly constituency and BJD’s State general secretary Yogesh Singh said the government has given the nod for construction of two storage structures on Ib river at Kopsingha and Kudabaga and the third one on Safei at Kinjirma. The estimated cost of the Kopsingha and Kudabaga projects would be Rs 221 crore and Rs 186 crore respectively, while the one at Kinjirma would be constructed at Rs 91 crore. All three projects would come up in the Sadar block of Sundargarh constituency.
Singh further informed that a tender is likely to be floated for the Kinjirma project in 15 days. But, it may take three months to float tenders for the other two projects. Sources said Ib river is a lifeline for Sundargarh town along with Sadar, Tangarpali and Subdega blocks. However, the river dries up during summer due to the regulation of water upstream in adjacent Chhattisgarh.
Despite public demand, the low height bridge-cum-barrage project failed to take off due to the involvement of high cost. It was later redesigned into a pick-up weir project but it never reached the implementation stage. During early 2018, the Sundargarh administration had unsuccessfully proposed to spend Rs 50 crore from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for an in-stream storage structure on Ib at Darbartangar.
In November 2019, the administration approved Rs 68.10 crore from the DMF for a pick-up weir at Darbartangar. However, the technical advisory committee found the DMF-funded proposal at Darbartangar not feasible and rejected it, Singh claimed.