Defunct check dams add to farmers' woes in Odisha

RENGALI : Ever seen a check dam with just four  concrete pillars sticking out of the ground without any barrier to stop water? There are so many such check dams and shown as completed in industrially flourishing Rengali block of Sambalpur district.  Although Rengali block boasts of irrigation potential to 3,019 hectares of land out of the 18,980 hectares of Rayati land, a closer look reveals a different story. 

As a result of such incomplete check dams, the problems of farmers have soared  in the block. This lackadaisical attitude of the officials has failed farmers to gain from the projects which would have helped them irrigate their crop. Funds have been spent, projects shown as commissioned in official documents but the benefit is yet to accrue. Some of the check dams have been constructed at wrong places. Either there is no water in some places or no cross bunds.

Reports said that the Minor Irrigation Department has sanctioned construction of 46 check dams with an ayacut area of 696.3 hectares at an estimated cost of about ` 7.61 crore in the block in the fiscal 2015-16. Of the 46 check dams, only 25 have been completed while work on 21 others remain incomplete.
The condition of Lift Irrigation Projects is no different as out of 17 LI Projects with an ayacut area of 364 hectares, only five are functioning while 12 are lying defunct in the absence of electricity.

The five operational LI Projects are irrigating 124 hectares while the potential of others remains to be tapped. Similarly, 1,088 deep bore wells have been dug up in the block of which electrification has been completed in only 199  wells.While the Block Development Officer could not be reached, Vice-Chairman of Rengali Block Satyanarayan Agrawal admitted that there has been large-scale embezzlement of funds in the name of construction of check dams and irrigation.