Odisha Among Top 5 States In First-Ever Water Bodies Census

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is among the top five states comprising 63 per cent of the total water bodies in the country, according to the first-ever census of water bodies by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

West Bengal has highest number of water bodies followed by Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.

The census, which was conducted in 2018-19, also highlighted disparities between rural and urban areas and varying levels of encroachment and revealed crucial insights into the country’s water resources.

Of the 2,424,540 water bodies enumerated, 97.1 per cent are in rural areas and only 2.9 per cent in urban areas. The top five states in terms of the number of water bodies in urban areas are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura, while West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam occupy the top 5 slots in rural area.

The census revealed that 1,81,837 water bodies have been enumerated in Odisha. Among these, 97.9% (1,78,054) are in rural areas and the remaining 2.1% (3,783) in urban areas. About 50.9% (92,575) water bodies are privately owned while the remaining 49.1% (89,262) are under public ownership.

It further stated that 31.3% (56,900) water bodies are located in tribal areas and the remaining 68.7% (1,24,937) in areas under Drought Prone Area Programme, flood-prone areas and Maoist-affected areas. While 89.2% (1,62,207) water bodies are in use the rest 10.8% (19,630) had either dried up or rendered useless due siltation or salinity or destroyed beyond repair.

Odisha was also among the top five states where water bodies were used in pisciculture.