People of Nandigram rend their voice for protection from erosion

Silchar: Erosion of river banks of various clusters of villages across Barak Valley by Barak and its tributaries is nothing new. How many villages, its landed and human properties have been swallowed up by the swirling and gushing waters of the river system are not exactly known. Recent memory however puts their count in high numbers and the erosion continues. In the present instance, the people of Nandigram area under Borkhola constituency of Cachar district have through a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister and the DoNER ministry and submitted to the Deputy Commissioner projected threats to their villages caused by the systematic erosion of Katakhal river, a tributary of Barak.

The erosion on the river bank of Nandigram area has presently assumed a serious dimension, posing threats to the life and property of the poor villages. Gourav Rajkumar, president, Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Students Union (NBMSU), taking up the cause of the people of Nandigram said the DoNER ministry was kind enough to acknowledge their memorandum and communicate the appropriate authority the serious situation in the wake of erosion. He revealed a delegation of inter ministerial central team visited Nandigram area on February 9, 2018 for an on the spot assessment and accordingly suggested the district disaster management authority (DDMA), Cachar, to initiate immediate proposal on priority basis.

DDMA submitted proposal to the water resources department, government of Assam, with plan and estimate amounting to Rs.9.88 crore for taking up immediate protection measures. The scheme specified ‘immediate measures to protect Nandigram area from the erosion of Katakhal river under SDRF (State Disaster Response Force)’ which was approved and recommended in the meeting of DDMA held on March 6, 2018. The office of the Chief Minister, Gourav Rajkumar added to say, communicated with the water resources department to take immediate necessary action to save Nandigram and its people. The department on its part communicated to the chief engineer for his perusal and follow up action. Against this backdrop, NBMSU secretary Biju Singha demanded approval of the scheme without further delay and initiation of protection works.