Baripada: Even as farmers in most parts of the state suffer crop damage either due to scant rainfall or pest attacks, water bodies built by the erstwhile royals of Mayurbhanj district decades ago are gradually failing to serve their purpose, according to a report.
No steps are being taken to renovate them in the larger interests of the farming community.
A case in point is the Baladiha dam in Shyamakhunta block. The reservoir has lost its water retaining capacity while its irrigational coverage has drastically shrunk. Local farmers observed that if nothing is done to renovate the dam, it will soon lose its existence.
In 1912, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo, the erstwhile king of Mayurbhanj, wanted to make use of water of river Palpala for irrigation purpose. The river flows beside the famous Similipal sanctuary.
The reservoir was capable of irrigating farmland within 205 sq/km area. The height of the canals is 7.21 metre while their width is 1.5 metre. The right canal of the dam is 13.05 km long while the left canal is 6.6 km long.
The water reservoir used to provide irrigation to hundreds of hectares of land in a host of panchayats including Baldiha, Nuagaon, Kuladiha, Kantapal, Danamara, Khandia, Bangei, Jagannathpur, Janudiha, Kundalabani, Rangamatia, Shyamakhunta, Sinduragouri, Astia, Dhanpur, Tikarapada, Ambadali, Sankuladiha, Juali and Ruma. About 25,000 farmers benefited from the project.
However, lack of renovation over the years has taken a toll on the reservoir. It has been bunged up with cumulative deposits of silt carried by the river from Similipal.
The dam’s water retaining capacity shrunk so did its irrigational coverage. This left scores of farmers high and dry while many were forced to stop cultivation.
It is alleged funds were sanctioned for repair and renovation of the dam, but they were not spent properly.
Bangiriposi MLA Sudam Marndi had received several complaints from the local people about the miserable condition of the dam. The MLA had raised the issue in the Assembly.
The irrigation department claims that the dam provides irrigation to 3,832 hectares of land, though reality tells a different tale, locals said, adding no step has been taken by the authorities for its renovation.
The department officials were not available for comment. PNN
