A CORRESPONDENT
TANGLA: In the wake of a drought-like situation, agrarian villagers residing along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Mazbat under Udalguri district have been grappling with a severe water crisis that threatens their primary livelihood, paddy cultivation. The crisis has particularly impacted the villages of Deowsani, Jingabil, Jagyapur, Lokampur, and Chaprabari, home to around 95 households and nearly 500 agrarian residents.
For the past six years, these communities have faced barren fields due to acute water shortages and blocked irrigation canals. With no adequate support from the elected representatives, the villagers have taken it upon themselves to find a solution. Turning to age-old wisdom, the villagers have revived the traditional ‘Dong’ system, an ancient method of channelling water from nearby rivers to irrigate agricultural fields every year.
Recognizing their plight, social worker and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to BTC Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro, Raju Dhakal, extended a helping hand to the villagers this year. Through his personal initiative, Dhakal facilitated the deployment of excavators to clear the blocked earthen canals, allowing water to flow once again into the parched paddy fields. “I have facilitated the work and am supervising it by pushing excavators to clear the blocked Dongs and restore the water flow to the fields which have been blocked since 2018 due to which villagers were unable to cultivate,” said Raju Dhakal.
“The canals were blocked which prevented flow of river water to our fields and our pleas for irrigation facilities have been ignored all these years by elected representatives. This time, we are happy that Raju Dhakal came to our rescue,” said Parsuram Ghale, a villager. While the immediate crisis has been temporarily averted, the villagers continue to face an uncertain future. They have made a fervent appeal to the state government as well as the irrigation department for the restoration and modernization of irrigation infrastructure in the region.
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