The embankment of the Ganga in Raghopur. Picture by Amit Kumar

A furious Kosi and an inflated Ganga are creating havoc in villages alongside the twin rivers.

Massive erosion has been reported from areas such as Dhondia under Kharik block in Naugachia sub-division. Similar is the situation at Saidpur in Gopalpur, Ismailpur block and Raghopur under Kharik block of the subdivision where a swollen Ganga has led to massive erosion. People residing in the areas are facing displacement threats like previous years.

In the past few days, villagers whose lands and residents have been engulfed by the rivers, are battling the alleged government apathy. They blame that the water resource department has miserably failed to tame the two rivers since the onset of monsoon.

Umesh Paswan, the mukhiya of Dhondia panchayat, said: “This is a manmade disaster. The water resource department is responsible for this crisis. To stop erosion, they had carried out poor quality work last year. Because of their poor standard of work we are suffering this year.”

Paswan, who was busy attending to his house, which was on the verge of collapsing into the swollen Kosi, alleged that because of the sub-standard work on the stretch of over 800m, embankments and pillars built in 2012 at a cost of Rs 1 crore, has been washed away.

According to government rulebook, 50kg sand should be filled in a single geobag before fixing them in the eroded lands. Geobag, a geosynthetic product made of polyester, is being used worldwide to protect riverbanks and hydraulic structures from severe scouring and erosion. However, according to Paswan, the contractors filled the geobags with soil, which were washed away by the floodwaters.

Awadesh Kumar Jha, the executive engineer of the water resource department said: “Measures have been intensified to fight flood. The danger zones such as Raghopur, Saidpur, Gopalpur and Ismailpur are given special attention.”