Bhubaneswar, March 30: The municipal corporation will shortly begin renovation of 14 natural ponds in the city.

On March 26, chief minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stones for renovation of the ponds. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has decided to take up the work within a month, said sources.

The major tanks set for revival are the Fishery pond at Lakshmisagar, Sundarpada Haja at Sundarpada, Nilakantheswar pond at Patia, Balunkeswar pond at Nayapalli and the Masjid pond at Haridaspur.

However, as the corporation has almost always found itself in a soup in maintaining its projects, the revamp of water bodies, too, raises question on the same ground.

On January 13, The Telegraph published a report "Rs 20 crore and five years on, Bindusagar needs more funds" (see picture) on how poor planning had taken a toll on the holy lake's revamp. Now, the civic body intends to spend another Rs 25 lakh for renovating it, on which Rs 20 crore has already been spent in the past five years.

Keeping the civic body's poor track record in view, this time, again the maintenance question is doing the rounds whether all those crores of taxpayers' money will go down the drains. The Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund will provide Rs 27 crore to revive the ponds.

"We need to repay the loan to the development fund. So, we have decided to undertake pisciculture in the small ponds and on the two major tanks - Lakshmisagar and Sundarpada - we will introduce boating facilities and install water fountains. Manpower will be deployed to look after the cleanliness and maintenance of the water bodies after its revival," said the civic body's city engineer Dwaipayan Pattnaik.

The 14 ponds (see chart) will go through all-round development, including removal of silt, development of erosion-proof embankments and construction of guard walls. "We will plant shrubs and herbs over the banks to avoid erosion and also build boundary walls to bar animal entry. Residents will also be notified not to undertake any polluted practice such as bathe their animals in the ponds. Security will be deployed to check the violation," said the official.

MONEY FLOWS IN FOR RENOVATION

Sources said the authorities should also apply agricultural limestone, superphosphate and cottonseed meal to treat the muddy water. Environmentalist and director of the Centre for Environmental Studies Sailabala Padhi said the authorities should ensure that the living micro-organisms inside the ponds do not die. "Expert firms should be appointed for the ponds' revival. The civic body should ensure non-entry of sewer into the ponds, traditional method should be adopted like manual cleaning," said Padhi.

Sources said the ponds had been selected on the basis of their condition and location with seven ponds each being chosen from divisions II and I.

"The ponds will be renovated according to the needs of the people, such as development of ghats for men and women, occasion-specific use and plantation of shrubs and herbs on the embankments," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

But again, the corporation has a poor record in dealing with the aftermath of occasion-specific use of water bodies. For example, celebrating the state's maritime legacy on the occasion of Boita Bandana has always proved to be a threat to the environment. Last year, too, miniature boats made of thermocol were sailed in various water bodies in the twin cities to mark the occasion.

Criticising the practice, which has seen a shift from environment-friendly shola pith (a milky white spongy wood) to thermocol, green activist P.R. Dash had at that time said: "Thermocol is a non-biodegradable material, which causes environmental pollution. Boat-makers should desist from using this material. The increasing trend of floating boats made of thermocol instead of the eco-friendly ones is evident of lack of awareness."

Regarding maintenance, the civic body will issue a guideline to ban thermocol boats during such occasion.

The corporation has also decided to construct sitting benches and walking tracks around the ponds, along with the provision of street lights over the embankments and near the ghats. The construction of public toilets near the ponds is also included in the plan. "We will also divert the drains wherever required, so that sewer does not enter the ponds," said Jena.

The mayor said that more than 35,000 residents living around the water bodies would benefit from the renovation of the ponds.

"Once upon a time, Bhubaneswar had more than 100 natural ponds and all of them were in good condition. Due to the rapid urbanisation and other social factors, many of those ponds have vanished with the passage of time. The idea to revamp the dying water bodies is a good initiative," said Lakshmisagar resident Jagannath Patra.

"The civic body has already invited tender for renovation of the ponds. We are finalising the bidder now. The work will begin shortly," said the corporation's executive engineer Ratindranath Mallik.