Continuous spells of rain have caused breaches on the earthen embankments of two major rivers in North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas districts of the Sundarbans delta, and large stretches of arable land have been damaged by the ingress of saline water.
At Halda-Banshtala village in the Rupmari gram panchayat of Hingalganj block in North 24-Parganas, a 200-foot stretch of the earthen dyke along the Goureshwar river developed cracks, allowing saline water to flood nearby paddy fields.
A similar incident occurred at Puinjali village of Gosaba in South 24-Parganas, where a section of the embankment along the Roymangal river collapsed on Wednesday morning.
Panic spread among residents of Rupmari when they discovered a nearly 200-metre-long void on the embankment, inundating adjacent areas, including farmland. The villagers immediately informed the gram panchayat authorities, who in turn asked the irrigation department to take urgent measures.
The remnants of the Kali temple after it crashed into the Ganga following the erosion.
Local people alleged that the breaches were the outcome of administrative neglect and the absence of any permanent protective structures. “The large void on the earthen dyke has already been taken up for repairs by the irrigation department,” said local Trinamool Congress leader and Hingalganj panchayat samity member Surajit Burman.
“The work could have been executed under the 100-day job scheme itself if the Centre had not stopped funding. This deprivation has become the root cause of poor maintenance,” he added.
Countering the allegation, BJP’s Hingalganj legislative Assembly committee convener Abhijit Das said the central government had allocated funds for concrete embankments and river development projects, but the state failed to provide proper utilisation reports.
“If they (the Bengal government) properly submit utilisation details, they will continue to get the funds,” Das said.
Large tracts of farmland were destroyed on Tuesday night after a portion of the Roymangal river dyke collapsed in Puinjali village of Gosaba. “There was a heavy current in the river that swept away the dyke, causing saline water to flood the nearby land. The situation has become so critical that taking up protective work is proving extremely difficult,” said an official of the South 24-Parganas district administration.
A 20-foot section of the earthen embankment along the Bidyadhari river was severely damaged in the Mohanpur–Bhatpara area of Minakhan block in North 24-Parganas on Wednesday morning, leading to the entry of water into nearby residential areas. However, the damage was swiftly repaired through joint efforts by local Trinamool Congress leaders and the district administration.
“Immediately after the villagers informed us, we visited the spot. By Wednesday morning, we had begun protective work with administrative support, which successfully prevented further flooding. Otherwise, people might have paid a heavy price,” said Trinamool’s Minakhan 2 block committee president Taj Uddin Molla.
A century-old Kali temple was swallowed by the Ganga river because of severe erosion at Chachanda village in Samserganj, Murshidabad district, on Tuesday morning. Two months earlier, about 20 families had been displaced from the area following continuous erosion.
“The Ganga had come to a halt near the temple two months ago, but the erosion resumed on Monday evening and by Tuesday morning, the river completely devoured the temple,” said temple committee secretary Bapi Singh.
“Half of the residents had already left the village. Some are taking shelter at the school, while others have gone to their relatives’ houses far away. It has become impossible to organise Durga Puja this year. The villagers had just started preparations for Kali Puja two days ago, and suddenly on Tuesday morning, the temple was lost to the river forever,” he added.