'No initiative taken to reconstruct Singara embankment'

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR, April 1: Lakhimpur district administration and the Water Resource Department (WRD) of the State Government have taken no initiatives to reconstruct the unplugged embankment of Singara river under the Nowboicha Revenue Circle of the district. As a result of this, the riverine people are spending their days in fear of flood havoc in the rainy season. They strongly demanded the department concerned and the district administration to initiate steps to reconstruct the same in no time before the next rainy season sets in.

Last year, around 50,000 people of more than 30 villages like Gosanibari, Gelahati, No. 1 Gelahati, Sengelijan, Gendhali, Borgoya, Singaragaon, Roudung, Roudung-Borpothar, Pandhowa, Gendhali and Tokouguri under the southern Nowboicha area had to suffer a lot in consecutive flash flood losing their properties in flood caused by river Sigara. Floods even claimed human lives too. It is alleged that the State Water Resources Department did not construct the remaining part of the left embankment of the river during a long period of four years, leaving its construction at Singaragaon. As a result of this, the overflown water of the river, entering through the unplugged portion of the embankment, caused untold miseries for the poor villagers, wreaking consecutive flood havoc.

This phenomenon has blocked the tural flow of several streams without allowing them to carry the waters to the river from the inhabiting areas. Due to this reason, last year flood had inundated the villages for a prolonged period of four months. This unplugged portion of the embankment has remained the same this year too.

Former Governor of the State, Banwarilal Purohit took stock of the critical flood situation of the area while visiting the site last year, besides other ministers and MLAs of the State government. Though the then Governor instructed the district administration to take immediate action to mitigate the problem with a view to redeem the flood victims from their miserable plight, it has not come into effect till date. The aggrieved flood victims lambasted Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah and Nowboicha MLA Imdadul Haque Choudhury as they paid no due heed to secure the life and properties of the people of the revenue circle under their constituencies.