World Bank to fund Rs 303cr water project

The World Bank is likely to fund the Rs 303 crore drinking water project for Berhampur in South Orissa. The scheme envisages bringing water from Surada reservoir, located about 100-km from here.

The detailed project report (DPR) was submitted to the World Bank team which had visited the city recently to study the feasibility of the project.

"We have already submitted the DPR and it is now under the active consideration of the World Bank", said a senior official of the Urban Water Supply department.

The implementation of the scheme is necessary as the city reels under acute scarcity of drinking water during the peak summer season.

With a population of over 3.5 lakh, the city needs 45 million litres of water daily. However, the city gets only 33 million litres per day, which goes down to 20-24 million litres during the peak summer, sources said.

The water to the city is being supplied from the Rushikulya water supply system at Madhapur, about 30 km from here and the Dakhinapur Impounding Reservoir located on the outskirts of the city.

The water supply was disrupted for about four to five hours from the Rushikulya water supply system on Sunday due to the power failure, said an engineer.

Meanwhile the government is mulling to tackle the situation with assistance from the World Bank by bringing water from the Surada reservoir through pipes. At present, the water supply is through the canal.

"We feel that sufficient water can be drawn from Surada reservoir when it comes through the pipe", sources said.

This apart, the government is also planning to implement the Ghatakeswar medium irrigation project with an investment of Rs 24 crore. National Bank for Agriculture and rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned the project.

Following the completion of this project, about 8 million litres of water would be supplied to the city every day.

Meanwhile, a project for water treatment at the Dakhinapur reservoir is underway, involving an investment of Rs 5.20 crore. The project is being executed under the Urban Infrastructure Development for Samll and Medium Towns (UIDSMT) to treat about 20 million litres of water daily.