Bhubaneswar to get Rs 80 Cr-Mahanadi river front project along Kuakhai & Kushabhadra

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has approved the Mahanadi river front development scheme, aimed at transforming key locations along the river into major environmental, cultural, and spiritual tourism hubs.

The second phase of the scheme will develop the river front along the Kuakhai and Kushabhadra rivers near Pandara in Bhubaneswar. This will include riverbank development with safety measures, construction of ring roads and viewpoints, floating jetties, lock gates, bridges, parking facilities, cafeterias, toilets, and pedestrian pathways, at an investment of Rs 80 crore.

The work will be undertaken by the Water Resources Department of the Odisha government.

In an abstract estimate for the project along the Kuakhai and Kushabhadra rivers near Pandara in Bhubaneswar, the highest amount of Rs 54 crore has been allotted for river front ghats. While Rs 10 crore has been allotted for the ring road, Rs 5 crore each has been allotted for the floating jetty and parking. Similarly, Rs 4 crore and Rs 2 crore have been allotted for survey, investigation, and consultancy, and river view pathway projects, respectively.

The Mahanadi river front development scheme will be implemented over three years between 2025-26 and 2027-28, and it will be carried out from state funding. For the river front development along the Kuakhai and Kushabhadra rivers, Rs 10 crore will be spent in the 2025-2026 financial year. Similarly, Rs 40 crore and Rs 30 crore will be spent in 2026-27 and 2027-2028 financial years, respectively.

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Considered the lifeline of Odisha, the 851-km-long Mahanadi river that originates from Chhattisgarh, flows across 494 km in the eastern state, including Cuttack, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Boudh, Birmaharajpur and Subalaya, before reaching the Bay of Bengal.

CM Majhi stated that several important places located on the banks of the river will be developed as major centres for environmental, cultural and spiritual tourism.