Erosion relief for Malda people

Manas R Bannerjee

MALDA, Dec. 15: Over a seven-km-long left bank line of the Ganga, from Dharampur in Manikchak to Panchanandapur in Kaliachak II, identified as the most vulnerable erosion zone, is out of danger at least for the next three years, officials claimed today.As the Ganga has gradually been changing its course, officials hoped that the residents of the area would not have to face erosion for the next three years. The original central channel of the Ganga, which narrowed to 400 metres owing to formation of shoals earlier, had been expanded up to over 1,200 metres recently, said a senior engineer of the Malda irrigation division. Similarly, the left channel, which shifted to the eastern side in 1997 destructing densely populated villages, is being gradually blockaded. “Observing the positive trend of the river, we are hoping that erosion problem would be lesser than earlier in the next three years,” a senior irrigation official, said.It may be recalled that this year, for the first time since 1997, the rate of erosion in this zone was lesser. Hoping for the best, the Malda irrigation department has planned to start bank line protection work of the Fulohar at Shankaritola Ghaat in Manikchak block, where the river meets the Ganges.According to official sources, more than Rs 1 crore has been allotted by the Centre in the 12th Plan period for the riverbank protection and flood protection works. The department had prepared the scheme in Janurary this year and got approval from the government recently. Besides the bank protection job, the irrigation department would develop a 12-km road on the circuit embankment at Bhutni Diara, an island on the mid Ganges, in Manikchak block.