BALASORE: Every year, the river Subarnarekha plays havoc in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts during monsoon. Cashing in on the situation, the government plays vote politics by proposing several projects to control flood in the river system. However, once normalcy is restored, the proposals gather dust. The Subarnarekha that originates at Piska, near Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi traverses through Ranchi, Sareikela-Kharsawan, East Singhbhum districts in Jharkhand, West Medinipur district in West Bengal and Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts in Orissa. It has 79-km course in both the districts in the State before joining the Bay of Bengal near Kirtania. Though the total length of the river is 470 km, the basin of the rain-fed Subarnarekha is smaller amongst the multi-state river basins in India and it covers a drainage area of 1.93 million hectares. But in the absence of permanent flood control measures in the river, threat of massive damage to the area has become persistent. While near Rajghat bridge 1.5 lakh cusec water can pass through the river in normal times, during heavy rain 4 to 7 lakh cusec water per hour passes through the bridge, resulting in disaster for people in low-lying areas. Sources said the region has been experiencing floods since 1972. Though a multi-crore project was taken up after the first tripartite agreement among the co-basin states of Jharkhand (then Bihar), Orissa and West Bengal was signed on January 17, 1976, the ambitious Subarnarekha Irrigation Project is yet to see the light of the day. Bhogarai MLA Ananta Das said it was a dream project. When launched, it was hoped to transform the Subarnarekha, the ‘river of woes’ into a ‘river of prosperity’.“The project, which envisaged assured irrigation to more than one lakh hectares of crop land in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts, is facing an uncertain future today, mainly due to financial crunch,” he said. Sources said after the major floods in 2007 and 2008 that damaged properties worth over ` 500 crore in the district besides killing over 30 persons, a proposal of `14.37 crore was made for strengthening Subarnarekha embankment and construction of spurs near the vulnerable points. Though more than three years have gone by since then, the proposal is yet to get the approval from the State Planning and Technical Advisory Committee. Meanwhile, the Centre has decided to allocate funds for flood control measures in northern Orissa and repair the NH 60 damaged during the 2008 flood. The fund allocation will be finalised after the State Government’s clarification. Union Minister Srikanta Jena said the Ministry of Water Resources was examining the Subarnarekha Command Area Development Project (SCADP), a proposal submitted by the State Government and has asked the latter to clarify certain aspects. He also indicated that more than ` 200 crore was allocated in the last financial year for the Subarnarekha irrigation project which is under construction.
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