Rebirth of Sukapaika

A cardiologist revives a dying river in Odisha with help from 425 riparian villages

- PRIYA RANJAN SAHU

IN 2019, a quiet yet determined movement began in Odisha's Cuttack district. Residents from 425 villages came together under the banner of the Sukapaika Bachao Abhiyan (Save the Sukapaika campaign) to revive a river that had been declared all but dead. Leading the initiative was an unlikely champion: Pratap Chandra Rath, a cardiologist, now based in Hyderabad, Telangana, who set out to restore the Sukapaika river, the lifeline of his childhood village.