Centre readies feasibility reports for Mahanadi and Subarnarekha river inter-linking

Bhubaneswar, Aug 8: The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has readied the feasibility reports for the Mahanadi and Subarnarekha rivers of Odisha under the National River Linking Project (NRDL).  The feasibility reports for Mahanadi-Godavari interlinking have been completed following extensive research and inspection. A similar report has been readied for Subarnarekha-Damodar interlinking. The Mahanadi linking project has been proposed at Manibhadra and the Godavari link at Dowlaiswaram.The Mahanadi-Godavari link will cover Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka states. The Union Water Resources Ministry has proposed to set up a reservoir at Barmul in Nayagarh district It would help to divert Mahanadi water to the Godavari through rivers flowing across the Ganjam and Gajapati districts of Odisha.  Notably, the NWDA has identified 30 major rivers of the country for interlinking under the NRDL. Detailed project reports will be prepared for the interlinking of these rivers after the approval of feasibility reports. The Subarnarekha-Damodar interlinking project has been planned at Farakka in West Bengal. The Subarnarekha-Damodar-Ganga link will benefit the people of Odisha, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.