The state administration in Odisha is contemplating to build a bridge and barrage projects on the Mahanadi at Sambalpur to meet its water and allied needs. A demand in this connection coming for quite some time and now the district collector Samarth Verma sought opinion from the state government in this regard as people have approached him on this score. A proposal in this regard could be submitted after obtaining a green signal from the state government. People of Sambalpur face water woes due to water scarcity in Mahanadi soon after commissioning of Hirakud Dam in 1956. Then a small anicut had been constructed on Mahanadi to address the water woes. Thousands of people besides 25,000 floating population depend on Mahanadi to take bath and for their other needs. The existing anicut is low as it was designed to cater for the needs of a thin population of the town. Water flow in Mahanadi at Sambalpur dwindled soon after the construction of Hirakud dam, as the regular flow is contained upstream and this has prompted the government to build the new bridge and barrage projects.
