Thousands of women last week congregated on the banks of river Chitrotpala at Dhasanapari village under Sana-Adhanga gram panchayat in Kendrapada district demanding rejuvenation of the Chitrotpala river.
The women said the local ecology has seriously degenerated as the river, which was a perennially-flowing water body till two decades ago, dries up during the non-monsoon period.
The women, alongside thousands of men, attended a huge public meeting organised by Namami Chitrotpala, a non-political forum, where river experts, engineers, social activists and panchayat representatives shared their thoughts on the necessity for rejuvenation of the river.
Dr Bratendi Jena, a noted river expert who worked with the Union Government’s Namami Ganga project, threw lights on socioeconomic, cultural and religious importance of the Chitrotpala.
“Almost all civilisations developed on the banks of rivers and river valleys. Many civilisations have gone into oblivion when the rivers they lived by dried up. Hence, we need to rejuvenate Chitrotpala,” said Dr Jena.
Namami Chitrotpala president Chittaranjan Sahoo gave religious and cultural perspectives of the river. Quoting scriptures and citing mythological instances, he said the river is as old as the human civilisations. He mentioned Mahapurush Achyutananda and many other saints and sages who set up ashrams on the banks of Chitrotpala and preached virtues to people.
Sahoo had earlier met senior officials of the State Government and requested them to take appropriate steps for restoring the river’s original health. He also informed the gathering that the government has taken a positive note of the demand for rejuvenation of the river.
Santosh Swain, a river expert and technocrat who served in top positions of the State Water Resources Department, stressed on construction of In-Stream Storage Structures (ISSs) for filling the river.
Noted social activists Bhagaban Jena, Prakash Jena, journalist Akshaya Kumar Sahoo and Subrat Mishra also addressed the gathering.
After the meeting. the women performed Sandhya Alati of the river.
