Context: The Sukapaika River which stopped flowing 70 years ago is set to be rejuvenated as the Odisha government has started working on its revival plan following a recent direction from the National Green Tribunal(NGT).

Sukapaika River

• Sukapaika is one of the several distributaries of the mighty Mahanadi river in Odisha.

• The river originated from Mahanadi river near Ayatpur village in Cuttack. It flowed 27.50 km before meeting the Mahanadi again at Bankala. 

• When it was flowing freely, Sukapaika river acted as a source of drinking water, irrigation and other livelihood opportunities to over 425 villages under 26-gram panchayats.

Why has the river dried up?

• In the 1950s, the Odisha government closed the Sukapaika river mouth enabling the development of the Taladanda Canal System, a major canal of the State. 

• This led to the river dying a painful death and the process was aggravated by agricultural encroachments that had sprung up on the riverbanks.