Erosion posing threat to Brahmaputra dyke

FROM OUR Correspondent

TEZPUR, October 23: The Biswath-Panpur dyke on the bank of the river Brahmaputra to protect the vast southern part of Biswath, Chatiya and Jamuguri, is in imminent danger as severe erosion of the river has threaten its existence in this dry season too.

The erosion has taken away vast portion of the land in Solmari area of Bisawth and at present, the difference between the dyke and the river is only 20-25 metres.

It is worth mentioning that the memory of the devastating flood of 2012 in Solmari and Bhojmari area, because of the caving in of the dyke is still fresh in the minds of the people of the area. The Solmari erosion has become a threat to the Baaghaa centre too.

The local people alleged the Water Resource Department’s indifferent attitude towards the issue. After the 2012 flood, an amount of Rs 26 core had been sanctioned to repair and reconstruct the dyke but the major portion of the amount was allegedly siphoned off by contactors under the political patroge.

The locals also alleged that that an amount of Rs 167 core sanctioned by the Central Government for the flood and erosion protection of the river had also not been utilised properly. The geobags for protection of erosion have been washed away by the river, they added.

The geobags used covering nearly 300 metres at Solmari were washed away by the river, said Saifuddin Ahmed, the central vice-president of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union. The people of the flood-hit areas have been demanding immediate repair work for a long time urging the Government not to play with their lives.