Heavy erosion at Hatighuli in Tinsukia district threatens dyke

A CORRESPONDENT

DOOMDOOMA: Heavy erosion at Felai near Hatighuli, Saikhowa in Tinsukia district is going on unabated and this is threatening the dyke of Brahmaputra.

The river is just 10 metres away from the dyke now and if no erosion-resistant measures are taken by the water resources department, there is every possibility of the dyke being breached, alleged the villagers. The departmental engineers allegedly did not respond to the phone call of the president of the Dibrugarh-Tinsukia Districts Flood & Erosion Protection Struggle Forum (DTDFEPSF), Binod Kedia when the latter tried to apprise them of the situation over phone after visiting the site. Finding no other alternative, Kedia informed the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tinsukia about the gravity of the matter and the DC in turn directed the departmental officials to take urgent erosion-resistance measures.

It is alleged that the bamboo screens laid by the department some years ago were washed away by the high current of the river, thus making them ineffective in controlling the erosion. Villagers alleged that the departmental engineers do not have any first-hand experience about the high current of the mighty Brahmaputra, nor do they pay any heed to the suggestions put forward by experienced villagers. In the process, crores of rupees are being wasted in taking up such ineffective flood and erosion-control measures. In view of the gravity of the situation, the villagers, therefore, sought the intervention of the State Water Resources Minister.

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