Incomplete protection walls keep Baripada on toes

BARIPADA:  RESIDENTS of eight low-lying wards of Baripada Municipality are in a state of panic as flood water started entering these areas with rivers Budhabalanga, Jarali, Sarali and Sukhajoda in spate due to incessant rains.

That the planned protection walls around Jarali, Sarali and Sukhajoda rivers are incomplete yet has not helped the matters. Started in 2016-17 with a deadline of two years, officials of Baripada Minor Irrigation Division now say they require `11 crore more to wrap up the three projects.

Bikram Keshari Jena, secretary of Madhuban Development Committee alleged that apathy of department and poor interference of district administration has caused the delay. For the three projects, Water Resources department had allocated `5.47 crore for construction of protection wall on Jarali river, `5.55 crore for Sarali river and another `4.96 crore for Sukhajoda river.

Executive engineer of Baripada Minor Irrigation Division Mahesh Prasad Patnaik asserted that at least 1,827 metre of protection wall out of 2,200 m on both sides of Jarali river has been complete. Similarly, on Sarali river, wall work on 1,925 m out of 2,450 m is finished. For Sukhajoda, 1,654 m out of 2,175 m is ready. “We are waiting approval of the `11 crore plan for second phase work to start,” Patnaik said.