Act on Hirakud Dam to avoid disaster: Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari

It is the world's longest earthen dam and when its famous sluice gate no. 7 is opened to release flood water to River Mahanadi, it is a sight like none other. On Wednesday, the Hirakud Dam released this season's first flood water, but if the current state of disrepair continues, it will soon become history. Sounding off the alarm in Bhubaneshwar, Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari called on the Centre and state's attention to the widening cracks that need urgent action.

Built between 1948 and 1956 as a national project that was then transferred to the Odisha government in 1963, the Hirakud dam covers the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur, and is the world's longest earthen dam.

While its expected life span was 100 years, it has been beset by heavy erosion in the catchment area that has led to the dam silting up massively. An analysis by the Central Water Commission in 1995 and further studies by the dam authorities has also revealed that its total storage capacity had gone down by 27.35% owing to silting.

On Wednesday, Pujari called for action and said, "It is high time attention was paid to the dam. If the Centre and state government don't take immediate and serious action, then the dam will collapse at any movement. A number of cracks have appeared across the length and breadth of the dam and even the iron sluice gate is not functioning properly."

In the last session of the Parliament, the Dam Safety Bill, 2019 was passed. Aimed at developing uniform safety procedures for dams across the country, Odisha MPs demanded funds for the dam and were allotted Rs 600 crore for the overall renovation. Now, Pujari has demanded that the funds be deployed to start repair work at the earliest.

Zee Media Newsroom