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Following is an excerpt from a news report in Pioneer.

Ansupa, Orissa’s largest fresh water lake, 70 km from here, is set to be revived at a cost of Rs 6.41 crore. The Finance Commission is funding the first phase of the project, during which the lake’s silt load is being removed.

… Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said the State Government aimed at bringing back both aquatic life and tourists to Ansupa. An existing channel would be revived to facilitate entry of water and trees would be planted on the banks of the lake to check soil erosion, he said, adding that development of ecotourism was an integral part of the project.

The lake previously used to boast of a picture perfect setting between Saranda and Bishnupur hills on the outskirts of the sub-divisional town of Athgarh and was home to migratory birds in winter. It, however, suffered a slow death due to severe erosion around its catchment area, silting and proliferation of algae and hyacinth plants. The lake’s depth has now been reduced to 10 feet from the original 40 feet.

The revival project, being implemented by the District Rural Development Agency, Cuttack, under the Ansupa Area Development Scheme, aims at reopening of the Kabulanala channel on the lake’s south-east side, which used to link it with the Mahanadi till an embankment was constructed on the river a decade back. The floodwaters used to enter the lake from the south-eastern side through the channel and flush out the weeds through a stream, Hulhullanala, which runs into the Mahanadi on the south-western side.

The proposed opening of the channel would revive the natural process of de-weeding as the embankment stalled this natural process and the water entering into the lake could not get released. The heavy silting had set in due to the soil erosion from Saranda hill on the lake’s western side and Bishnupur hill on its north-eastern side due to deforestation. Besides, conversion of the silted area into paddy fields worsened the situation.

Following is an excerpt from a report on Pioneer on this.

Leader of the opposition JB Patnaik on Thursday came out with an alternative proposal on how to provide water to Posco’s proposed steel plant at Paradip without compromising the interest of farmers.

Addressing a Press conference, Patnaik said a dam could be built on the lower Mahanadi basin near Ersama to provide water to Posco’s plant at Paradip. Ersama is only 30 to 35 km from Ersama and it would not be difficult for Posco to take water from this place.

Patnaik has also come out with another proposal on how to meet the demands of the water requirement of the other industries. As per Patnaik, a barrage should be built on the IB River, on the upper basin of Mahanadi. He further said that a proper assessment should be made on the water requirements of the industries.

Following is an excerpt on this from a report in New Indian Express.

The 10 decimal land covered with vegetable plants of different varieties is now a source of income for Hari Podh of Khamarbadmal village, 50 km from here. …

Today, traders wait at his farm to buy vegetables plucked straight from his field. This, apparently, is something new the village is witnessing. With no water source, vegetable cultivation was a dream for the villagers. But intervention by an NGO, Mass, changed it all.

Hari just had to invest Rs 4,000 for constructing a Chahala (a small water harvesting body dug at the lowest point of land) and this changed the condition of his land.

Hari’s not the lone case. Joseph Bage of the same village invested Rs 10,000 on his three acre land and constructed a traditional water harvesting body. Now, his land is completely drought-proof.

Earlier, Khamarbadmal was one among the drought-hit villages in the region. People had land but no food. Poor quality of land devoid of supplementary irrigation sources yielded no results.

However, inspired by Hari and Joseph, the villagers are now in the process of constructing a series of water harvesting structures which when completed, will make 80 per cent of cultivable area of their village totally drought-proof and open up income generating sources. Mass is providing the villagers financial support for the purpose.

They have planned a total of 22 water harvesting structures of different types, shapes and structures depending on their suitability.

Besides, they are taking up farm land improvement activities. They have already completed construction of six structures.