Diamond Harbour, Feb. 12 :    Diamond Harbour, Feb. 12:  The development of fresh breaches on the Hooghly embankment near Diamond Harbour may also affect other subdivisions, fear officials of the South 24-Parganas district administration. 'We have decided to carry out extensive repair work on the damaged embankment on a war footing,' said South 24-Parganas zilla parishad sabhadipati Sova Dutta. The matter, she said, has already been discussed with the officials of the irrigation department. The original 4-km long embankment on the Hooghly was constructed during the British period. But with no thorough repair having been carried out so far, about 50,000 people live in fear. Villagers of Kulpi, Harinarayanpur, Mukundapur and Harran in Diamond Harbour said an area of 2 km near Puratan Qilla has already been washed away. District administration sources said big breaches have developed near the government-run tourist lodge, Sagarika. Moreover, the heavy pressure of vehicles on the road adjacent to the embankment is also causing concern as the road was built during the British period to cater to much less traffic. The highway is the only road link between Kakdwip-Namkhana and Bishnupur-Baruipur-Garia via Sagar Island. At least 15,000 vehicles ply on this road everyday, including local and express buses, trucks, taxis, rickshaws and autorickshaws. 'I am in touch in with the irrigation and PWD departments so that the problem can be solved before it takes a serious turn,' said district magistrate Alapan Bandyopadhyay. Diamond Harbour municipality chairman Asit Bose said a proposal had been made to build an alternative road from Kapterhat, which would meet Kakdwip Road from Lalbati-Ratneswarpur of Kalinagar village. 'We have heard much about the road and hope that, after it comes up, the fear of being inundated goes away,' said Bose. Earlier, local CPM MLA and former state law minister Abdul Mollah had taken up a project to build a 9-km road from Bunarhat to Hatuganj. Rs 5 crore was sanctioned for the project, but the work was stalled midway. 'If that work can be completed, Diamond Harbour can be saved. But nobody can say why that work stopped midway. Initially, the work was allotted to the PWD but later the zilla parishad took up the work. However, progress was very slow,' said local Trinamul Congress worker Dibakar Naskar. 'We are aware of this problem. A survey is being conducted on how the area can be saved from the ravages of the river. We will take up the work as soon as we get the report,' said Manoranjan Diyasi, in charge of the irrigation department in the zilla parishad. However, zilla parishad chief engineer Utpal Prava Sarwasti said: 'Already we have got a fresh scheme for the road from Bunarhat to Hatuganj, work on which was stopped midway. After the road is completed, we expect the problem to be tackled.' 'The matter has been discussed for a long time. Now we are trying to expedite it as early as possible because mere discussions will bring no result,' said local CPM MLA Hrishi Haldar.