Kendrapada: The current flooding by the Kha Rasrota and Kani rivers is disrupting farming and livelihoods across 10 panchayats in Aali block, with environmentalist and bird expert Pramod Kumar Dhal urging the central and state governments to build about 26.5 km of embankments to protect the flood-prone belt.
Dhal has written to the prime minister, Odisha chief minister, Union and state water resources ministers, departmental secretaries, the district collector and the Water Resources Department’s superintending engineer, seeking urgent intervention.
The affected panchayats include Gobindpur, Aragala, Desahi, Eradanga, Juania, Petapada, Ketua Pal, Palimi, Sansidha and Dimiripal.
They had a combined population of 98,643 in the 2011 Census. Dhal said about 51% of men from the area now seek employment outside the district to support their families.
Annual flooding damages kharif and vegetable crops from the beginning of the cultivation season, leaving farmland uncultivated for much of the year.
Roads from Gobindpur to Manapur and several village roads are often submerged by 2-3 feet, disrupting access to education, health care, drinking water, food and other essential supplies.
Dhal proposed a 14.5-km embankment along the right bank of the Kharasrota from Hadua through Aragala and Dimiripal to Manapur.
Another embankment along the left bank of the Kani from Palimi to Manapur has also been proposed.
He suggested a ring embankment about 3 metres above the highest flood level, with an 8-metre-wide road, modern sluice gates and a canal network to strengthen agriculture.
He also sought geobag riverbank protection and stone pitching at vulnerable locations such as Padinipal Nasi and Aragala, besides barrages at Madhusudanpur and Kantipur to regulate floods and improve irrigation and drinking-water availability.
He said retaining freshwater could also benefit the Bhitar kanika wetland.
Water Resources Department superintending engineer Rakesh Kumar Mallik said preparations for the project have begun.