The state irrigation department has sent a set of proposals worth ₹22 crore to the government, seeking approval to take up measures to rein in floods and the
erosion of riverbanks in north Bengal.
“The proposals were discussed in detail at the director-level technical committee of our department. The committee approved the proposals and we have forwarded the same to the state for approval and allocation of funds,” said Krishnendu Bhowmik, the chief engineer (northeast) of the department.
One of the proposals deals with repairing and strengthening a 1,700-metre-long stretch of an embankment on the left bank of the Ganga in Manikchak block of Malda. The estimated cost of the project is ₹14.79 crore.
For Jalpaiguri, the department has come up with a proposal to carry our flood-protection works along the bank of the Reti-Sukriti river near Chamurchi in Banarhat block near the India-Bhutan border, with a project cost of ₹2.13 crore.
“The plan is to strengthen two stretches on the embankment of the river in Chamurchi and near the Rheabari tea estate. This work is essential as during the monsoons, the river carries large volumes of water from Bhutan to the Dooars,” said a source.
Similarly, a flood control project on the right bank of the Panchnoi, a river that flows through the northern outskirts of Siliguri, has been included in the set of proposals, with an estimate of ₹3.14 crore.
“Flood protection works are required in different stretches of the Matigara block (of Siliguri subdivision). They include sites near the agricultural farm in Salbari, near the factory of the Dagapur tea estate, and near the Mahavir High School,” the source added.
In North Dinajpur, a project to strengthen the embankment along an 800-metre-long stretch on the left bank of the Sui river that flows through the Itahar block has been sent for approval.
“We are waiting for the approval and want the works to be carried out before the next monsoon season,” Bhowmik said.
The overflowing rivers wreak havoc on human habitats during the rains.
