The people of Gajapati district in general and of Paralakhemundi in particular have reasons to cheer as their drinking water and irrigation problems will be sorted out soon.
According to information available, the prestigious Mahendratanaya irrigation project which was under construction near Dambapur village of Gajapati district is almost on the verge of completion.
Notably, the foundation stone of the ambitious project was laid by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on April 30, 2008.
Significantly, it is the first interState river dam project of the district from where water will be got for irrigation and drinking water to the Paralakhemundi town.
The civil work of the dam project is almost completed and the remaining mechanical works are likely to be completed by March next, sources said.
Thanks to Assistant Engineer Water Resource S Rath who hails from the same region and played a key role in its construction, the project will finally be a reality. However, the project cannot be utilized until the water-carrying canal from the dam to the field is ready and becomes functional, sources said.
Initially, the project was designed by open canal system to create an ayacut of 1,010 hectares of land in Rayagada and Gosani of Gajapati district. However, the design was later changed with an aim to provide irrigation by Presssure Pipe System (PPS) to around 2,000 hectares.
State Planning Board member Rama Chandra Panda visited the site on November 25 and took stock of the progress of the project. During his visit, some of the local elected representatives, including former MlA Bijay Kumar Jena, Block Chairman Dhaneswar Bhuia and Antaryami Gamango of Rayagada block requested Panda for early completion of the project to provide an additional channel to Krishna Sagar.
Panda reportedly has suggested the State Government to take an early decision on the canal scheme and instruct the Odisha Construction Corporation (OCC) to engage additional manpower to complete the canal construction by March next.