ROURKELA: A project aimed at meeting drinking water and irrigation needs of people in three Assembly constituencies of Sundargarh has been lying on the backburner for the last seven years. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid foundation stone for a low-height-bridge-cum-barrage at Baikunt ghat of Koel river in July 2013. The project was later redesigned as a pick-up weir to come up near Hamirpur village. 
Three tenders have been floated so far for selection of a construction agency or contractor to implement the project and all of them have been dropped over unknown reasons.

In July 2018, the Chief Engineer & Basin Manager of Upper Mahanadi Basin under the Water Resources department had issued an e-procurement notice for civil works towards construction of weir across the river at an estimated cost of `262 crore. The technical bid was to be opened on September 9 the same year but it was cancelled over unspecified reason. With Koel river remaining dry throughout the year except monsoon, the project is of great importance to people of  three Assembly constituencies of Sundargarh. The bridge-cum-barrage proposal was mooted with a height of six metres for drinking water storage, irrigation for about 3,300 hectares of land in Kuanrmunda and Nuagaon blocks and connectivity to these blocks with Rourkela. Later, the need for acquisition of 200 hectares and submergence factor were realised. 

The original proposal was redesigned into a weir structure with several modifications and location of the project was shifted to Koel river’s downstream at Hamirpur to avoid submergence. The Water Resources department in 2014 had haphazardly floated a tender with an estimated cost of `445.5 crore only to drop it later. Second tender for weir was floated two years later but was also dropped.

Officials said the weir at Baikuntha ghat would provide direct communication and irrigation facilities to people of Kuanrmunda and Nuagaon blocks in Birmitrapur Assembly constituency. It would have also served the purpose of storing drinking water for people of Rourkela and RN Pali Assembly constituencies on the other side of the river. RN Pali MLA and former BJD Minister Subrat Tarai, who has been pursuing the issue since 2009, said the cost of the weir portion is estimated at `262 crore, while the technical advisory committee has approved a total expenditure of `340 crore including civil and mechanical works and other ancillary costs. Tarai said he would again take up the issue with the Water Resources Department for early implementation of the project.

WATER WORRY
The Koel river originates in Jharkhand and flows through three Assembly constituencies of Sundargarh district. During summer, the river in Sundargarh becomes completely dry due to water flow restriction in Jharkhand because of its multiple barrages and hydel-power projects. During the summer of 2016, Rourkela Industrial Township had faced severe drinking water crisis due to this.