The Sukapaika river originated from another river, the Mahanadi, near Ayatpur village. It flowed 27.5 km before meeting the Mahanadi again at Bankala.
Key points
- This small river stopped flowing 70 years ago in Odisha’s Cuttack district, now it is set to be rejuvenated.
- The Odisha government has started working on its revival plan following a recent direction from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
- In the 1950s, the State’s water resource engineers had closed the Sukapaika river mouth enabling development of the Taladanda Canal System.
- This canal led to the river mostly drying up. The process was aggravated by agricultural encroachments that had sprung up on the riverbanks.
- A petition was filed in the NGT in 2021 demanding rejuvenation of the river.
- On September 28, the NGT’s Eastern Bench directed the State government to make budgetary provision for the river’s complete rejuvenation by March 2023.
(Source: The Hindu)
