Odisha, Jharkhand to meet over Subarnarekha flood management

Bhubaneswar: With flood in Subarnarekha River adversely affecting Odisha and Jharkhand, both the States have decided to meet to look for a collaborative solution. According to sources, a meeting between Odisha and Jharkhand will be held on August 7 in Baripada for effective flood management on Subarnarekha River.

Notably, floodwaters of Subarnarekha have caused widespread damages in Odisha. A joint coordination committee meeting is scheduled On August 7 where in the chief engineers of both the States will discuss the issue, informed Water Resources secretary PK Jena.

Notably, the Chandili Dam in Jharkhand has not reached the stipulated height of 192 meters. Moreover, Odisha gets no information about the amount of water received by the Chandili Dam and how much water is released from the dam. Furthermore, the dam on the Subarnarekha’s tributary Khadakhai is only 25 % complete. In Odisha, around 60 km of the river path of Subarnarekha is narrow and the new embankments have not been able to widen its path.

Another major concern is the Ichha dam which is being built on Subarnarekha at West Bengal’s Bhosraghat as the water from this dam will spill over to Odisha. Experts believe that Odisha government should hold discussions with the West Bengal government regarding its escape route.

“A rule needs to be formed regarding the water level at Chandil Dam and how much needs to be stored will be decided by Odisha and Jharkhand governments. Moreover, a warning transmission system of the Chadili dam is yet to be effective,” informed Bishnu Prasad Das, the former chief engineer.
“We have paid majority of the cost of construction of both the dams. However, we have to ensure Jharkhand completes Ichha dam and required steps are taken to maintain 192 meter water level in Chandili dam,” added Jena.