Statesman News Service
MALDA, 17 AUG: Heavy rain has stalled the ongoing anti-erosion work at Bhaluka Bazaar which was taken up finally under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
The work was also been hampered due to scarcity of the adequate gunny bags today. The registered labourers under the NREGS had to return at the last moment today.
It may be noted that the district administration had started anti-erosion work under the NREGS to save the existing embankment.
Standing on the brink of extinction, the damaged embankment could be breached at any moment if the ‘hydraulic gradient line’ fails due to erosion.
When the irrigation department failed to continue the work due to scarcity of funds, it was decided that thousands of gunny bags filled with sand would be dumped at vulnerable points in the riverside to ‘arrest’ erosion so that the river can not eat into the present damaged embankment more. The objective was to stem flood water and to save people from inundation in the vast areas.
But at present, due to heavy rain, tractors are in no position to travel in the area to bring sufficient sand or soil for filling the gunny bags.
On the other hand, the assigned contractor has failed to manage adequate gunny bags to continue the work today. In the last two days, huge gunny bags filled with soil in a crate (filling 30 gunny bags) were dumped there day and night.
The district administration has allotted Rs 29.21 lakh from the NREGS for this job. Though the district magistrate has sought technical support from the executive engineer of the irrigation department's Mahananda divisions for supervising the ongoing anti erosion-work, the departmental workers are reluctant to interfere. When contacted, the district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said: “I need to collect the correct information before taking steps."
Red alert along Fulohar
MALDA 17 AUG.: The irrigation department sounded ‘red alert’ along the Fulohar river in northern part of Malda district this evening following sudden rise in the water level. According to the executive engineer of the irrigation department, Mr S Misra, red alert had been sounded for the unprotected zone. “The water level has risen to 27.45 meter today, which is alarming,” Mr Mishra said. ;SNS
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