SALMORA, March 1 � Massive erosion has posed a serious threat to the protection works in the Salmora area of river island Majuli as a large portion of a stone spur (which is known as the No.1 spur in the locality) fell into the river Brahmaputra today as it could not withstand the current of the water even in this dry season.
Locals alleged that the erosion had been occurring in the protected area in the past few days because of technical snags in the works done by the Brahmaputra Board. �Instead of doing boulder-pitching works from a considerably distant and deep area, they did it from a place near the river bank. Now, immediate protective measures should be taken up to safeguard this spur. We know several crores of public money had been spent in its construction,� said Dulu Bharali, a local resident.
Echoing similar sentiments, many other citizens of the area today said that the government officials concerned must monitor the ongoing protection works in other areas, too. The Brahmaputra Board has been doing protection works in Salmora, Sumoimari and many other areas on the river island.
Asked about the causes of erosion taking place in the �well-constructed� spur, an official of the Board said that the current of the river could not be diverted by the pitched stones in the deep area. However, he assured of reporting the matter to the higher authority as soon as possible for taking up �protective measures� in the spur, which was technically designed for protecting several villages from the wrath of Brahmputra.