Bhubaneswar, Mar 31: For a smooth cargo movement along the Mahanadi, the hydrographic survey of Mahanadi River that converges with seawater in Bay of Bengal has been started in view of the commissioning of national waterways project.
A vessel has been pressed into service to the river near Paradip to assess the navigational aspect. The survey is being carried along 5 KM stretch of the major river. It is scientifically investigating features like navigation, the depth of the water-body and the current velocity of water during high tide and low tide. An official of national waterways project, Odisha informed the media. In the first phase of construction work of the national waterway, dredging work of the riverbed in the non-tidal zones has already commenced. 36 KM stretch non-tidal zone from Padanipal in Kendrapara to Erada in Jajpur has been taken up for intensive dredging. It is being ensured to maintain 2.5-3 metre depth and 45 metre width of the river. Once the dredging work is over, the widening of narrow canal and construction of check dams and barrages would be undertaken for uniform inflow and depth of water.
Before the navigational experiment in Paradip, the cargo vessel named MV Lal Bahadur Sastri had been deployed from Dhamra in Bhadrak to Rajnagar in Kendrapara to gauge the depth of river water and ascertain the possible en-route hindrances. The said stretch of waterway was an known to be a tidal zone. The vessel had been deprived of cargoes and had an unhindered and hassle-free movement across the tide infested river. This was said by Abinash Roul, Deputy Project Director, Inland Waterways Authority of India (Odisha chapter). In June 2014, Odisha government signed an MOU with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Paradip Port Trust (PPT) and Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) to put in place the national waterway No-5. The waterway would be stretching from Talcher-Kalinga Nagar- Dhamra-Paradip stretch covering 588 KM stretch including coal belt of Talcher and port hubs like Paradip and Dhamra. 323 KM stretch out of the 588 KM strtch from Talcher coal belt to Paradip and Dhamra has been the economically viable waterway zone.
This 588 KM stretch of the National Waterway No. 5 has been assessed by the IWAI to be most economically viable in India. Once the inland waterways stretch has developed, it will facilitate movement of cargo like coal, iron ore, steel and other products etc. The first phase of the project will comprise of 201km stretch between Kalinga Nagar-Dhamra-Paradip port and the second phase consists of 131 km stretch between Talcher and Kalinga Nagar. A large number of industries and coal companies could reap benefit if the waterways-5 comes up. The project would be environment-friendly and pollution-free.
