OdishaPlus Bureau
Besides other approaches, more important is the behavioral change of people for rejuvenation of Mahanadi and Godavari. This is the outcome of a workshop attended by scientists, forest officials and administrators. The workshop was held by the Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi and the Institute of Forest Diversity, Hyderabad in collaboration with the Department of Forest, Government of Odisha.
Blockage Removal
Speaking at the workshop organized here today, Principal Secretary in the Department of Water Resources,Odisha Pradeep Jena said for rejuvenation of the rivers it is primarily necessary to remove all blockages in the way of natural flow of river water and total stoppage of house construction work in the lower area.
The first round of discussion was on rejuvenation of the Mahanadi and the Godavari river water systems through intervention of the Forest Department. Partcipants included different government and non-government stakeholders who will prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR).This follows a decision by the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, GoI for preservation and rejuvenation of 13 major rivers in the country.
Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi has been given the responsibility of preparing the DPR for Mahanadi whereas the DPR for Godavari will be prepared by the Institute of Forest Biodiversity of Andhra Pradesh.
Water Flow
Speakers in the workshop were of the view that construction of barrages and dams on the river basin, mining of sand and pebbles in the riverbed, construction of roads, effluents from sewerage, water for industries and deforestation in the catchment areas cause impediment in water flow. All these activities degrade the quality of river water and result in preventing water becoming pollution -free in the natural way.
The workshop underlined the holistic approach and creating awareness about these activities among individuals and organizational stakeholders through intervention by the Forest Departments of respective states.
Multidimensional Approach
The other objectives of the DPR is to study of the existing situation of the Mahanadi and the Godavari river basins keeping in view the lessons learnt from past river management practices and experiences.Forestry activities with regard to the river management programme for regeneration, improvement and restoration of forest catchments; present condition of riparian forests as potential of biological filters; examination of the possibility of allied and other income generation activities; information about cultivation of medicinal plants, restoration of conservation areas, and identification of appropriate and specific sites; identification of prioritization of critical areas for implementation of plan, choice of appropriate species and development of site-specific models in riparian, agrarian and urban landscapes; usage of technology for survey and monitoring, formulation of strategies and activity plan for project implementation also came up for discussion.
Speakers in the workshop were of the view that construction of barrages and dams on the river basin, mining of sand and pebbles in the riverbed, construction of roads, effluents from sewerage, water for industries and deforestation in the catchment areas cause impediment in water flow.
Participants in the workshop included Dr. PK Mathur from Dehradun, Dr. Sharat Tiwari and Dr. PK Das from Ranchi , Additional Chief Principal Conservator of Forests, Odisha Dr. AK Pathak, Dr. PH Chowhan, Dr. R Jouheri, Dr. S Pattnaik and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Sandeep Tripathy and the Director of Horticulture, Odisha.