The protesters demanded permanent solution to their recurring problems brought about by floods every year and alleged that government officials visited the area only when there was erosion or flood, while according to them, the administration has failed to properly maintain the embankment.
Representational image (Photo: IStock)
Over 100 flood victims in the Kahala area under the Ratua police station demonstrated before the District Magistrate, Kaushik Bhattacharya, Superintendent of Police, Alok Rajoria, Malda Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati Gour Chandra Mandal and other officials as they visited Surjapur where the embankment on the Fulhar river had been damaged.
The protesters demanded permanent solution to their recurring problems brought about by floods every year and alleged that government officials visited the area only when there was erosion or flood, while according to them, the administration has failed to properly maintain the embankment.
“The protesters objected to Mr Bhattacharya’s proposal to have a ring built there first, before a permanent solution is sought,” sources said. Notably, almost 400 meters of the embankment at Surjapur in the Kahala GP in Ratua-I Block has been taken away by the Fulhar in the past two weeks, while the remaining portion of the embankment is also under severe threat of being washed away, which may result in the entire block being flooded.
Advertisement
Rajesh Kumar Singh, a local alleged, “Dumping cements bags on the embankment will do nothing as the river is eroding land at the ground level and below it. Government funds will be misused if the work is not done from underground and the proposed ring embankment will prove to be futile. This is why we demanded a permanent solution.”
Mr Bhattacharya, on the other hand, said amid the current situation, the irrigation department had decided to construct a ring embankment and then look for a permanent solution.
Advertisement
