CUTTACK: The ambitious renovation and beautification project for Taladanda Canal in the millennium city is proving to be a bane for farmers of Cuttack and Jagatsighpur districts as delay in completion of works has left them high and dry.
The 82-km canal, which stretches from Cuttack to Paradip, is the lifeline of farmers from the two districts. The canal is lying dry for the last over four months as ongoing works have prevented release of water from Mahanadi into it. While more than 30,000 hectares of farmland is irrigated through the canal, a lion’s share of its water is used by farmers of Jagatsinghpur district. The canal is also a major source for recharge of groundwater level in Kissan Nagar locality of Cuttack district.
With the canal rendered defunct, thousands of framers from both the districts, who have prepared saplings for Kharif paddy cultivation are in dire straits. “Due to lack of water in the canal, our fields have dried up and developed cracks. We are finding it tough to irrigate our parched fields by using motor pump sets,” said Dinabandhu Pradhan, a farmer of Somepur.
Urging the Water Resources department to release water from the canal as soon as possible, Kissan Nagar pani panchayat president Gyana Ranjan Bisoi said a majority of farmers who had prepared their land for planting saplings on Akshaya Tritiya, are waiting for water from the canal to irrigate their land.
However, the department is unable to release water from the century-old canal due to delays in its renovation. The renovation project is part of Millennium city’s decongestion and beautification plan. Though the renovation of the 1.5 km stretch of the canal from Jobra to Ranihat has already been completed, work from Ranihat to Chhatra Bazar is far from over.
Executive engineer, Jagatpur Irrigation South Division, Rajesh Mohanty admitted that the delay in releasing water in the Taladanda canal is due to the ongoing renovation work. He said steps are being taken to release water in the canal as soon as possible.
“Some bridges are being constructed over the canal in the city by the Roads and Building department. We have issued a letter to the department to remove debris from the canal bed as soon as possible. Besides, we have also started clearing weeds from the canal. Steps are being taken to release water from the canal by July 10,” said Mohanty.