Soil erosion throws people into panic in Panchali of Dibrugarh

A Correspondent

Dibrugarh: Many people of Panchali residing close to the Brahmaputra River woke up to a scene of fright and apprehension on Tuesday – a tract of land, inches away from the embankment, was eroded by the river the previous night. Some makeshift structures, built by some locals, also got washed away by the turbulent waters. The locals were already living in a state of anxiety following the announcement that China had released more water into the river, and the latest incident only gave credence to their fears. Amidst all the commotion, some sensible people informed the Embankment and Drainage (E and D) Department, and a few officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. A while later, E and D workers were seen at the site, ready to start the damage-control measures.

Over the next many hours, they laid down many geo bags or nonwoven geo-textile bags all along the area to stave off further incidents of erosion of riverbanks. While the insecurities harbored by many a local were abated by the flood-control measures, many others were heard putting up some relevant questions.

Talking to The Sentinel, Iftikhar Jahan, former PWD engineer and a resident of Panchali, remarked, “The officials are playing with fire. Why can’t they take pre-emptive measures, rather than wait for the adversity before getting their act together? They could have placed the geo bags earlier for they knew that soil erosion was in the offing at this time of the year.”