Odisha Village ‘Govindpur’ declared as Birds Village

Tags: place in news State News

Located near the Hirakud Lake in Bargarh district of Odisha, Govindpur village has declared itself as a “Birds Village”. The residents of the village have resolved to keep the area pollution free and protect the migratory birds during its nesting period.

The Govindpur village lies within the Lakhanpur wildlife range and the locals have taken the initiative under the guidance of Hirakud wildlife division.

More than 2 lakh birds migrate to Hirakud Reservoir every year for breeding and stay for six months. The migratory birds of about 100 species come to the reservoir, spread over 746 sq km, in October every year.

With the declaration of the Hirakud Lake as Ramsar site in 2022, the area is expected to attract tourists, photographers in large numbers.

Hirakud Dam 

The Hirakud Dam is the world's longest earthen dam built on river Mahanadi in Sambalpur district of Odisha. The dam is 25.79 km long and has an artificial lake called Hirakud reservoir.

It is a multipurpose river project which was conceived by M. Visvesvaraya in 1937, after recurrence of devastating floods in Mahanadi River.

The construction of the dam began in 1947 and it was inaugurated in 1957.

The largest earthen dam in the world is the Tarbela Dam on River Indus in Pakistan. 

The largest earthen dam in India is the Banasura Sagar Dam, on the river  Karamanathodu  which is the tributary of the Kabini River. It is in Kerala. 

It is also the 2nd largest earthen dam in Asia after Tarbela dam.