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Brahmaputra embankment unrepaired at Biswanath!

By Correspondent

BISWANATH CHARIALI, May 6 - Around 50 bighas of agricultural land was reportedly eroded by the mighty Brahmaputra on the southern part of Biswanath during the first part of this month on account of the lackadaisical attitude of the Water Resources Department, the local people alleged.

It may be mentioned that a project named �Protection of Biswanath Panpur, including areas of upstream Silamari and far downstream Bhumuraguri to Boragaon against erosion by the Brahmaputra� was taken up under the Flood Management Programme (FMP)-XII at an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore and achieved considerable progress.

Work on the scheme started in February 2015 and substantial progress was achieved upto March 2016. About 21 percent of the State share was released against the said project by the State Water Resources Department. Contractors engaged in the said project disclosed that they had put all effort to complete the work on time, but failed to do so due to early flood season in 2016. The executed protection works successfully withstood the thrust of the Brahmaputra and no erosion or damage was observed during the flood in 2016. When the flood season was over, the contractors again started work, but no payment was allegedly made against their progress of work by the Government. Obviously, the contractors engaged in the aforesaid project refused to continue with their work further and hence the scheme remained incomplete due to non-realisation of their pending bills.

Not surprisingly, heavy damage took place at Solmari area during the flood in 2017 and a major portion of the embankment was eroded. Local people expressed apprehension that there would be heavy damage to the already executed work if no work or repair was taken up before the flood season starts this year.

Proving the affected people�s apprehension to be correct, a large portion of land was eroded. On the other hand, local people alleged that even 50 percent of work was not completed by the department in the Bhojmari and Silamari areas. Around 1.6 km area covering the said villages had to be protected by constructing a dyke at an estimated cost of Rs 96 crore.

Thus, the unrepaired dykes have posed a serious threat to the people of entire Biswanath LAC in Biswanath district. Though a deadline for repairing the dykes was fixed on April 30 by the State Government, yet it seems that the Water Resources Department has not bothered to take timely action in Biswanath, the affected people lamented.

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