SAMBALPUR: Prior to construction of Hirakud Dam, traditional water harvesting structures (TWHS) were the mainstay of water resources and these catered to all the water needs of the local population, including irrigation. The TWHS were so designed that one was located below the other and the water seeped from one TWHS to another and this not only got properly harvested, but also helped in ground water recharge.
The villagers selected one of the TWHS to meet the drinking water needs. Use of TWHS and its water was restricted. But with elected system coming into place, the tradition got demolished. Continuous neglect of the traditional wisdom led to water scarcity and now the entire Western Odisha is facing the problem of water crisis.
Sambalpur town had 94 water bodies of which only a handful survive today. Social and economic mobility from rural areas to the town and subsequent rampant encroachment led to growing pressure on land and water. Mindless encroachment choked all channels which had helped maintain water levels in these water bodies. There are 104 slums in Sambalpur town and this speaks about the quantum of social and economic mobility and the failure of the administrative authorities to take care of the additional pressure.
For instance, Rani Bandh, is located at Baraipali. Once spread over 10 to 12 acres of land, only about an acre is left with shanties coming all around the embankment. Early settlers had managed to grab the areas and had built houses on the embankment which they leased out on rent to others. Such is the situation that the Gurudwara, which was given four acres from the water body in lieu of their land for construction of Grid Sub-Station at Bohidar Nuapali, could not acquire the land given by the State Government in exchange. The little water left in the water body stinks and those who have constructed toilets in the shanties release their solid waste into the tank. The situation of the tank in Gujarati Colony beside Jalaram Mandir has also met a similar fate.
Similarly, Ramsagar Bandh at Mudipada, also known as Ayodhya Sagar, which has been converted into musical fountain after a boating club developed on it failed, had been earmarked for providing drinking water to the town. But the water body does not have water anymore.Renovation of the water bodies in the name of beautification and development has become a mode to earn money by some unscrupulous officials while the issue of removal of encroachment and clearing natural water channels has been pushed to back-burner. Too much excavation of silt has been affecting the water holding capacity of the tanks and money spent on tanks is flowing down the drains.
The water body on Dhama Road at Bhatra was renovated and revived at a cost of Rs 43 lakh. But in the absence of planned development, the water tank has failed to draw locals who had been using it. The situation of other tanks, which have been revived by spending lakhs, is no different.Sambalpur Municipal Corporation Deputy Commissioner Saroj Biswal said 22 water bodies have been identified and its revival will begin in the next one week at an estimated cost of Rs 1.20 crore.
Only a few water bodies survive today
Continuous neglect of the traditional wisdom led to water scarcity and now the entire western Odisha is facing the problem of water crisis
Sambalpur town had 94 water bodies of which only a handful survive today
Mindless encroachment choked all channels which had helped maintain water levels in these water bodies