The Rushikulya river, the lifeline of the people of Ganjam district, is slowly drying up because of environmental degradation stretching from Surada to Ganjam town where the river merges with the sea.
The entire urban and rural areas of Ganjam district placed in between depend on the river both for their drinking water and irrigation needs.
It may be recalled here that, in 1970s the first historic movement to save and clean river Rushikulya was launched in Ganjam town where more than 400 people, mostly youths, were arrested and were put in jail.
Subsequently, in 1984, the historic ‘Save Rushikulya River’ campaign was launched by former Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly and activist Rama Chandra Panda at village Pottlampur. To discuss with the agitating farmers, the then Janata Dal leader and former Chief
Minister Biju Patnaik sent a team led by former Minister Bhagabat Behera to the farmers’ rally to discuss with the agitating farmers.
Subsequently, due to a sustained public agitation between 1984 and 2014, the Central agencies and the NWDA conducted a survey and finalised the project report which envisages construction of a 230 km length canal from river Mahanadi (Baramula point of Nayagarah district) to Rushikulya (river point near Kabisuryanagar) through districts of Nayagarah and Khurdha to transfer the surplus water of the Mahanadi during rainy season to the Rushikulya river.
The State Government then had accepted the scheme in principle in 2016, but the same is not making any progress so far, as the Central Government has diluted the scheme by extending/changing the ‘Mahanadi-Rushikulya Link’ as ‘Mahanadi-Godavari scheme’. Further, with the Chhattisgarh Government stopping water flow at several stretches of the Mahanadi by constructing dams, the Odisha side of the river is getting dry triggering an unending row. The BJP-led Central
Government has remained as a mute spectator to this unilateral action of Chhattisgarh as the BJP is also ruling in the State.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has taken a bold step by taking Rushikulya-Mahanadi river linking scheme as a State Government project.
