The broken Benakanda-Malibasa creek irrigation structure in Kendrapara. Telegraph picture

Paradip, April 24: A Nabard-funded creek irrigation project collpased in Mahakalpada and Pattamundai tehsils here, spreading salinity in 15,000 hectares of agricultural land and affecting 50,000 farmers.

The cave-in, which has rendered fertile land unfit for agricultural uses, allegedly happened because of sub-standard materials being used in its construction.

The affected farmers demanded reconstruction of the Benakanda-Malibasa irrigation project and punitive action against the engineering wing officials.

On 16 October, 2006, a huge concrete creek-irrigation structure worth Rs 1.37 crore, had collapsed at Benakanda, merely a month after it was completed to provide fresh and unsalinated water for irrigation.

Supporting the affected farmers, the Zila Vikash Manch here decided to stage an agitation if the irrigation structure was not rebuilt before the onset of monsoon.

“The farmers of 16 gram panchayats are worst-hit because of the dysfunctional state of the project. The fields in these parts are frequently invaded by saline ingress because of its proximity to sea. Farming activity has got decimated as salinated soil does not support khariff, rabi and vegetable cultivation,” said Pramod Sahu, president of the Zila Vikash Manch.

The affected agriculture fields are located at Jamboo, Suniti, Bijoynagar, Deulipada, Dihudipur, Badiha, Aradapali, Badapada and eight other gram panchayats.

The incident has triggered a public outcry forcing the government to order a high-level inquiry to ascertain the factors leading to the disruption of the irrigation structure.

Large areas of agriculture fields are getting salinised following frequent ingress of tidal waves. The creek irrigation project would have acted as buffer against the tidal waves. The local water resources divisional office had made a cost escalation of the project just a month before it had collapsed. The department had recommended that cost of the project should be enhanced because of its superior quality of construction.

Several discrepancies had also cropped up with regard the project’s execution. The structural designing was allegedly faulty and the concrete pillars were built without mandatory soil testing. Though initial soil testing report indicated Benakanda as a suitable site for the project, it was later shifted to Bhateni near Jamboo for reasons best known to the authorities.

Executive engineer of Kendrapara irrigation division Harihara Panda said: “A high-level departmental inquiry has been ordered into the project debacle.”