Raipur
On the initiative of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai, water has been released in the mainstream of Indravati river by controlling the water flow in the Jora Nala Control Structure. After the consent of the Odisha government, the flow of water was ensured by putting sand sacks in the structure, which has increased the water level in the Indravati river.
On the instructions of Chief Minister Shri Sai, Water Resources Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap, Union Water Power Minister Shri C.R. Discussed with Patil to resolve the water crisis of Indravati river. On this, the Union Minister gave necessary instructions to the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Odisha to solve the problem. As a result, the Zora Nala control structure was temporarily elevated by the consent of the state of Orissa, which improved the water flow of the Indravati river.
Additionally, the work of removing the sand deposited in the upstream and downstream of the Indravati river has been started, which is targeted to be completed by the first week of April. In this regard, Additional Collector Shri C.P. under the guidance of Collector Shri Haris S. Baghel, Additional Superintendent of Police Shri Maheshwar Nag and EE Shri Ved Pandey of Water Resources Department gave complete information to the local farmers in the Prerna Sabha room of the district office.
Problem of Indravati River and Jora Nala
The Indravati river originated from Rampur Dhumal village in Kalahandi district of Odisha state. The river joins the Godavari river after a 534 km journey. The catchment area of ​​the river is 41,665 sq km, including 7,435 sq km in Odisha, 33,735 sq km in Chhattisgarh and 495 sq km in Maharashtra.
The Indravati river in village Sutapadar on the border of Odisha is divided into two parts. One part enters Chhattisgarh near the Indravati river, 5 km, while the second part is found in the Shabari (Colab) river flowing 12 km as Jora Nala. Earlier, the water of Jora Nala used to come in Indravati, but gradually its flow reduced the water flow of Indravati.
In December 2003, it was decided to create a control structure for water division at the mouth of Jora Nala in the meeting of the chief engineers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh in December 2003. The structure was created by the Odisha government, designed by the Central Water Commission (CWC). Even after construction, Chhattisgarh gets 40.71% on average in summer due to excess water in Jora Nala Odisha received 59.29% water flow.
Progress towards solution from the initiative of the state government
The Government of Chhattisgarh made several efforts to ensure minimum water flow in the Indravati river. On 6 January 2021, officials of the Water Resources Department of Odisha and Chhattisgarh conducted a joint inspection. This inspection requested to remove sand and boulder and straighten the winding of Jora Nala to prevent waterlogging in the upstream of control structure.
After the year 2018, there was a problem of low water flow in the Indravati river. Now the efforts of the state government have received the support of the Odisha government, due to which concrete steps are being taken to balance the river water flow. This will increase the water flow in the Indravati river and ensure better availability of water for irrigation for farmers.