BISWANATH CHARIALI, May 18 � The Biswanath District Committee of the All Assam Minority Students� Union has demanded a high-level inquiry into the alleged corruption in the construction of the Rs 97 crore geobag dyke on the bank of the Brahmaputra river covering greater Biswanath-Chatia-Panpur areas in Sonitpur district.
In a press release, the student body has demanded that the dyke be constructed scientifically. They also alleged in the release that the concerned contractors had failed to meet the necessary requirements in constructing it and wasted around 5,000 geobags by letting them remain here and there in water. The contractors have used small machine boats instead of barges which may lead to total failure of the project.
It may be mentioned here that large parts of that area including Kumalia, Chatia, Jamuguri, Nagshanker, etc., were inundated in the devastating flood in 2012 due to a breach in the Biswanath-Panpur dyke at Sholmari rendering thousands of people homeless and leading to loss of human and animal lives.
On the other hand, around 50 villages have been affected by large scale erosion that is going on in that part of the area so far. To save the area from the fury of the Brahmaputra, the Water Resources Department of the Government of India sanctioned the said amount to implement various schemes there.
Accordingly, several local contractor firms have started their work, but a firm from Mumbai is yet to move even after three months of receiving work order. With the monsoons at the doorsteps, the slow pace of work has become a cause of concern for the local people residing in those villages.