BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Thursday sought intervention of the Centre and the State government for the rejuvenation of Prachi river to meet the drinking water, irrigation and other needs of Khurda, Cuttack and Puri districts. Sarangi who met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on Thursday discussed revival of the ‘dead’ river and placed a proposal before him for rejuvenation of the river at an investment of Rs 297.81 crore.
Sarangi told the Minister that the 78 km-long river, that once passed through Khurda, Cuttack and Puri and used to be the lifeline of Balianta, Baranga, Kantapada, Niali, Kakatpur and Astaranga, is now lying dead as the water from Mahanadi’s tributary Kushabhadra river has stopped flowing into it. “People living near the banks of the river have been long demanding its rejuvenation work,” she said. Sarangi also apprised the matter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking his intervention for the river’s revival.
The Bhubaneswar MP, in a letter to the Chief Minister, stated that the State Water Resources department had prepared a report for ‘Rejuvenation of Prachi River’, which was sanctioned by all relevant technical authorities in September 2021. The technical committee had estimated the project cost at `297.81 crore. “It is a massive project which when executed has the potential to transform the lives of all living in Prachi valley and beyond,” she wrote.
Stating that organisations like Prachi Prajna Parishad and others have been constantly pursuing the matter, she urged the CM to issue appropriate instructions to the Water Resources department to place the project report in the appraisal committee and take further steps for its implementation to revive the river.
She said that people of Odisha are proud of the Prachi heritage and the river holds an important place in their lives as it was the medium through which huge stones had been carried to build the 13th century Konark temple in Puri. Besides, the famous temple of Maa Mangala revered by one and all in the State is also situated on the banks of the river.