Ponds turn dumping yards here

BARIPADA: Even as water scarcity has reached alarming proportions, ponds and water bodies in Baripada town are being used as dumping yards. The Government, on its part, is showing little interest in renovating them.The town has five major ponds - Badapokhari, Chapalpokahari, Jhinjiri Bandh, Tinikunia Pokhari and Hemsagar Pokhari. While Hemsagar is looked after by the Endowments Department, the local civic body takes care of the rest four.While at places shopkeepers have encroached on some portions of the ponds to open their stalls, in other areas they are filled with garbage, weeds and waste materials. Even medical waste of a nearby nursing home has been dumped in Hemsagar.Sumanta Kumar Rana, a local, said people mostly depend on Chapalpokhari and Bada Pokhari. “With no renovation and de-weeding for years, the ponds have become unfit for use. They are filled with plastic bottles, polythene and waste materials. Hotels, restaurants and shops have made these ponds their dumping yards,” he alleged.Residents alleged that despite repeated complaints the municipal authorities are yet to renovate the ponds.Though, as per reports, Rs 9 lakh _ Rs 5 lakh from the Special Relief Commissioner, Rs 2 lakh from the MLA LAD and Rs 2 lakh from MPLAD fund _ had been utilised for the renovation of Badapokhri in 2004, the pond is now in a miserable condition.This apart, Rs 25 lakh was allotted from the Backward Region Grant Fund of the Centre in 2008-09 for the renovation and beautification of Jhinjiri bundh and Gandhi park. Sources said, as per the project, a boating club was to be set up at Jhinjiri bundh besides renovating it.It is alleged that the agency, which was awarded the work order, misappropriated the funds by doing substandard works.Former chairman of municipality Krushnanada Mohanty said the ponds which need urgent attention have become breeding grounds of poisonous snakes and mosquitoes due to lack of renovation.Municipal authorities, however, cited funds constraint behind the delay in renovation. Chairman Raj Sibnarayan Kisku said a proposal of ` 3 crore has been given to the Urban Development Department for renovating the ponds and construction of a new park near Jhingiri bundh along with a boating club.