With the initiative of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, water flow in Indravati river is ensured from Jora Nala Control Structure

Raipur 12 March 2025: On the initiative of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, water has been released into the main stream of Indravati river by controlling the water flow in Jora Nala Control Structure. After the consent of the Odisha government, the flow of water was ensured by putting sand bags in the structure, due to which the water level in Indravati river has increased. On the instructions of Chief Minister Sai, Water Resources Minister Kedar Kashyap discussed with Union Jal Shakti Minister CR 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 resolve the problem. As a result, with the consent of the state of Odisha, Jora Nala Control Structure was temporarily raised by one feet, which improved the water flow of Indravati river. Apart from this, the work of removing sand deposited in the upstream and downstream of Indravati river has been started, which is targeted to be completed by the first week of April. In this regard, under the guidance of Collector Haris S, Additional Collector CP. Baghel, Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Nag and EE of Water Resources Department Ved Pandey gave complete information to the local farmers in the Prerna Sabha room of the district office. Problem of Indravati River and Jora Nala Indravati River originates from Rampur Dhumal village of Kalahandi district of Odisha state. This river joins the Godavari River after traveling a distance of 534 kilometers. The catchment area of ​​the river is 41,665 square kilometers, which includes 7,435 square kilometers in Odisha, 33,735 square kilometers in Chhattisgarh and 495 square kilometers in Maharashtra.

Indravati River splits into two parts at village Sutpadar on the border of Odisha state. One part flows 5 km as Indravati River and enters Chhattisgarh near village Bhejapadar, while the other part flows 12 km as Jora Nala and joins the Shabari (Kolab) River. Earlier, the water of Jora Nala used to flow into Indravati, but gradually its flow increased and the water flow of Indravati decreased. When the problem became serious, in a meeting of the chief engineers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh in December 2003, it was decided to build a control structure for water division at the mouth of Jora Nala. This structure was built by the Odisha government, whose design was prepared by the Central Water Commission (CWC). Even after construction, due to more water going into Jora Nala, Chhattisgarh got an average of 40.71% water flow in summer and Odisha got 59.29% water flow. Progress towards solution due to the initiative of the state government The Chhattisgarh government made many efforts to ensure minimum water flow in the Indravati river. On January 6, 2021, officials of the Water Resources Department of Odisha and Chhattisgarh conducted a joint inspection. In this inspection, a request was made to remove sand and boulders and straighten the bend of Jora Nala to prevent waterlogging upstream of the control structure. After the year 2018, there was a problem of continuous decrease in water flow in 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 water flow of the river. This will increase the water flow in Indravati river and farmers will be ensured better availability of water for irrigation.