COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Puri District

Comprehensive Development Plan – PKDA 20312.8 Water ResourcesThe entire PKDA region being situated along the coast of Bay of Bengal has a network of rivers, ponds andlakes, which have an interconnected drainage system. The four main rivers passing through the area areMangala River near Sipasiruballi, Nuanai River passing through Balukand reserved forest, Kushabadra Rivernear Konark and Kadua Nadi towards Kakatpur. These rivers are the tributaries from River Mahanadi.Map 2.7: Water bodies Map: PKDASource: ORSACDue to the proximity to the sea, the ground water in most of the areas is saline; the two sweet water aquiferzones within the Puri municipal limit are the main source of drinking water in the region. These aquifers arelocated in Baliapanda and Chakratirtha areas. The Major tanks in Puri have great heritage significance asthey are associated with the rituals of the Jagannath Temple.2.9 Flora and FaunaThe PKDA region is rich in flora and fauna. The flora in the study region includes casuarinas, anacardium,eucalyptus, neem, tamarind, karanja, etc. The prominent fauna in the region are blackbuck, spotted deer,monkey, squirrel, jungle cat, hyena, jackal, mongoose and variety of birds and reptiles.2.10 Chronological growth of settlementThe major settlements in the region are in Puri and Konark. This section broadly discusses about the growth ofthese two towns. Located on the East Coast of India overlooking Bay of Bengal, Puri is located on a 67 kmstretch of sandy beach that extends from the Chilika Lake to the south of Puri town. The sun temple of Konarkis located on this beach at a distance of 35km north of Puri.The Puri town was originally built on sandy track which began from north and west towards Cuttack andGanjam road where the Madhupur or Matia stream is lined with the largest tanks, Narendra, Mitiani,Markandeya and Siva Ganga. As the tributary of the river Matiani draining into the sea dried up, it pavedthe way for the new direction of development of the town in the southeast.CEPT, Ahmedabad 19