Borjhar, May 3: Dakshin Kamrup Garakhohonia Protirodh Sangram Samiti has alleged that the land spur construction under an erosion-prevention scheme at Makadhuj in south Kamrup was progressing at snail's pace and demanded an inquiry into the matter by the chief minister's vigilance cell.

Makadhuj, an erosion-affected area on the bank of the Brahmaputra, is 40km from Guwahati.

The Palashbari Gumi Project Water Resources Division is implementing the scheme - Protection of Makadhuj from the erosion of river Brahmaputra - under a centrally funded flood management programme since February this year. The estimated worth of the scheme is Rs 14.02 crore.

A spur is an embankment-like structure constructed near the bank of a river to protect nearby areas from erosion.

The Samiti said despite several pleas to accelerate work, the authorities have not paid any heed. "We have demanded an inquiry by the chief minister's vigilance cell as the authorities implementing the scheme have not paid attention to our pleas," Rajani Saloi, vice-president of the Samiti, said.

With monsoon just a month away, the Samiti has expressed concern that a late start might just worsen matters during the monsoon when the river level invariably rises.

"How will they carry out the work during the monsoon? In the event of any natural calamity, who will protect us?" Jayanta Goswami, president of the Samiti, asked.

It also demanded immediate halt to the construction of porcupines (concrete structure of pillars) along the eroded bank as measures to prevent the area against erosion.

"Porcupines is not an effective anti-erosion measure when it comes to tackling a big river like the Brahmaputra. It will be effective only for a small river like Beki. So, such a structure would mean sheer waste of money and so we demand a halt to such work," Saloi said.

The 162-metre long and six-metre wide spur is being constructed on Palashbari Gumi embankment between the existing spurs at Simina and Futuri to protect the area from erosion. Water resources division sources said the scheme would ensure protection of 1,500 hectares from erosion.

Residents alleged that they fail to understand what the scheme was as no signboard with details of the construction have so far been put up at the site. "We are still clueless as neither have we seen a signboard nor any progress of work at the site," Nizamudin Ahmed, a resident, said.

The water resources division said it plans to complete the construction of the spur by March 2016. "This spur has been constructed between two existing ones and will support the latter. We started the work in February and expect to complete it by March 2016," A. Azad, assistant executive engineer of Palashbari Gumi Project Water Resources Division, said.