Ansupa, one of the rare sweet water lakes of the country situated in Banki in Cuttack district, has awoken to life with the appearance of thousands of birds and congregation of visitors in the ongoing winter.
The avian creatures take the tubular stalks of water lily, seeds, weeds, plants, fishes and watery animals as their foods and take shelter in the branches of mangrove and bamboo plants of Saranda and Bishnupur hills concealed the lake from two sides.
This lake gets water from river Mahanadi through Kabulah and Huluhula canals. During every rainy season, the flood water enriches the lake with sufficient water inputs.
As per Government record, the lake is situated over a land mass of 141 hectares in a horseshoe shape. Its catchment area is 5,231 hectares which includes at least 28 revenue villages. As per sources, during the reign of the Ganga dynasty in the State, king Subarna Keshari was attracted strongly by the scenic beauty and surrounding of Ansupa and had established a revenue village beneath the Saranda hill on the bank of the lake and named the village after him, called as Subarnapur.
According to historians, during the reign of Dhala dynasty in Banki, a fort was established on the Saranda hill to protect the lives and valuables of the king.
Here we find the ruins of gun-powder house, gates made of stones and a watch tower. A grand bronze door was also installed at its gate, shutting and opening sound of which informed the people of Athagarh and Banki regarding the entry and exit of the king. All the above glory of Ansupa once attracted thousands of tourists and picnickers to this area from and outside the State.
However, with the passage of time, due to acute negligence, the tourist destination is losing its charm day by day. For some Government officials and politicians, it has become a hub of corruption.
Crores of rupees are sanctioned through multiple departments of the Government in every yearly and five year plans but are embezzled allegedly by some bureaucrats and peoples’ representatives for at least a couple of decades.
For its renovation, several NGOs and contractors were engaged but had left the works haphazardly the cause of which is best known to them. An special multi- crore development project was also launched by the Government for its upliftment. Accordingly, some pindis were developed in the bank of Ansupa for picnic by the Tourism Department. An eco-park and boating facilities were opened by the Horticulture department. Three bamboo cottages were made for the tourists on hire by the Forest department.
The Fishery department, the Agricultural department, the Cooperation department, the Soil Conservation department and others also released funds for the site. The Union Forests and Environment department also extended financial grants for its renovation.
As per its development plan, a deer park, a market for handicraft products, a visitors’ gallery, a fishing jetty, a rope way from Saranda hill to Bishnupur hill across Ansupa are to be made here, but as yet the foundation has not been started.
The lake area has been filled with weeds and its area shrunk with encroachments by some nearby villagers. The depth of water drastically lessened to 4/5 feet against at least 25 feet, 20 years back. No Mahanadi water is reaching this lake now due to water scarcity.
This apart, due to blasting for collecting stones by mafias from Saranda and Bishnupur hill, migratory birds stay frightened and change their destination. Moreover, bird poachers are active in the area. As the State Government has given licence to a foreign liquor shop near the picnic area, drunkards are creating nuisances. Police patrolling is not done.
Recently, a team of 14members led by NRI Dhirendra Kumar Kar reached the Ansupa on a cyclothon but expressed its dismay over the condition of the tourist site. They told this paper that their journey was very pleasant as the road from Bhubaneswar to Ansupa is very fine, but still much need to be done to develop the site.