Bhubaneswar: Because most river embankments often bear the burden of flooding, the retired Chief Engineer of the State Water Resources Department Gopal Prasad Roy has conducted research on ‘geomorphological studies from subsidized river banks in Mahanadi Delta in Delta.
Roy said low-cost embankments can be made in the state with careful planning and design.
“Embankment failure during and after the flood is an ordinary phenomenon in each delta system.
The cause of failure can be attributed to inadequate size, improper design and irregular maintenance.
One possible cause of failure, which is usually not addressed, caused by the existence of Paleochannels Big roots where the river embankment was built, “Roy’s study said.
Paleochannel describes the remnants of rivers or an inactive flow channel that has been filled or buried by younger sediments.
“Over time, only the height of the embankment is increased, and the size increases with a large investment, but the failure continues to remain.
Sometimes the steps for protection against the embankment in the form of water poles, chapation or dwarf walls are taken with massive investments,” said Roy, who has studied at IIT Roorkee and completed a PhD in Riverbank subsidence a few days ago.
His studies include extensive field works, basic behavior analysis, analysis of flow patterns using mathematical modeling along with other studies.
The state has eleven river basins.
They are subarniarekha, Budhabalanga, Baitarani, Brahmani, Mahanadi, Rushikulya, Vamsadhara, Nagavali, Bahuda, Indravati and Kolab.
Delta of the three main floods caused the river area – Mahani, Brahmani and Baitarani – interconnected.