Hope for Asha Sagar: Admn to take up beautification work

The New Indian Express, March 15, 2007
Thursday March 15 2007 13:08 IST

BHAWANIPATNA: It hasn't been long since the district administration planned the renovation and beautification of 'Asha Sagar', the historical water body of Bhawanipatna town. But a group of encroachers may spoil the plans now.

Asha Sagar was constructed around 1880-81 by then king of Kalahandi Udit Pratap Deo in the name of his Queen Asha Manjari Devi for public use and irrigation.

However, after Independence, though Asha Sagar was handed over to the Minor Irrigation Department, it remained deprived of required facilities.

Keeping in view its strategic location, the district administration recently mooted renovation and beautification of the water body.

On the proposal of the district administration, about Rs. 1.61 crore was sanctioned from the RLTAP fund of KBK in the first phase to the Minor Irrigation Division to start the renovation work.

In the first phase, among other things, it was decided to deepen the pond area and repair and develop the periphery roads.

Accordingly after settlement of tender, the work started this month. In the second phase, the district administration has decided to beautify Asha Sagar by making elaborate light arrangements and introducing boating facilities in the lines of BDA, Nicco Park in Bhubaneswar. A garden on the bank is also in the pipeline.

The project is now irrigating 121 hectares of an agriculture farm of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology. But after renovation and beautification, it would also become an important tourist spot of the district, sources said.

But with the water body becoming a victim of encroachment, these plans may receive a huge blow, allege locals. Besides, the body is covered with silt and weed.

Incidentally, the main drain of the municipality discharges waste into the water body making the water unfit for consumption.

Kalahandi Collector NBS Rajput said an extensive survey would be carried out to check encroachment. And, the encroachers, if any, will be evicted, he added. He also asserted that within a short time, Asha Sagar will become an asset for the town.