Taking a humble start, demarcation work of 1.5 km along the life-line of Ranchi has been completed under ‘Harmu river rejuvenation and conservation work’ while the survey work will be completed within the next 15 days paving the way for starting the construction work. No major hurdle, officials claimed, came in the form of the encroachers as they have already made up their mind looking at strict attitude shown by the administration.
“Around 3.5 km of survey work from Harmu Mukti Dham to Guru Nanak School has been done. Also the demarcation on both sides of the river, acquiring the land to start the construction purpose is complete,” said Jharkhand Urban Development Corporation (JUDCO) GM Umesh Mehta.
Geo-tech work on the other hand is in progress which is also likely to get completed within the next 15 days, added Mehta. Meanwhile, the designing part for the project was also in process which will be completed before the survey work so that the construction work does not get delayed do not get delayed due to it.
Harmu River, considered to be the lifeline of Ranchi, is to get a face-lift through conservation and beautification work to be carried out by a Mumbai based agency within a period of 30 months under ‘Harmu River rejuvenation and conservation work’ involving Rs 87 crore. The project is a brainchild of Chief Minister Raghubar Das who had laid the foundation stone for the same on March 14 near Karam Chowk in Ranchi.
According to Mehta, if the work goes with the same pace, the project would be completed much ahead of the deadline given for it. “Much to our surprise, no major objection was raised during the survey and demarcation work was apprehended by us. People living adjacent to the river seems to have made up their minds that anyhow they will have to leave the place this time due to the strict attitude adopted by the administration,” Mehta added.
Beautification work was to be carried out on both sides of 10.4 km stretch of Harmu River, located in the state capital, involving Rs 87 crore already allocated by the state government for the purpose.
Under the project, as many as 31 community toilets will be constructed on some of the vulnerable spots to check the problem of open defecation alongside the riverbed, also putting dustbins throughout the river stretch ensuring an effective waste management system. Besides that, hundreds of trees will also be planted alongside it enhancing the beauty of the river with proper landscaping.
The riverbeds will also have a 2.5 meter pathway on both sides of it facilitating the commoners to stroll on it. M/S Eagle Infra India limited has been assigned the job with a target of completing the project within 30 months.