Fresh erosion has hit Malda district coinciding with the end of Durga Puja.
In the past 24 hours, a temple at Parlalpur area in Kaliachak-III block and a BSF camp adjacent to a temple have been damaged by the Ganga which has also swallowed large stretches of farmland in Manikchak block.
The irrigation department has already started palliative protection work at the behest of the district administration. Around 3am on Thursday, residents of Parlalpur were alerted by the loud warnings of the BSF personnel, saying that the river was eroding portions of the temple and their camp.
“We woke up and rushed to the temple. A part of the temple was already immersed in the river. The main temple and its other parts are waiting to be swallowed by the river in few hours,” said Indubala Halder, a local resident. Lalit Kumar Sarkar, another resident of Parlalpur, said nearly 3,000 residents of the area feared being roofless if the erosion went on.
Seven families had already started shifting their houses fearing a fresh spell of erosion. The BSF camp has also suffered considerable damage.
“A two-wheeler and some furniture were gobbled up by the river. The camp has been shifted to a safer place,” a resident said.
Nitin Singhania, the district magistrate of Malda, said palliative work had started.“Parlalpur ghat is important as it has ferry service with Dhulian in Murshidabad. Measures are being taken so that the ferry service is unaffected by erosion. Simultaneously, we are finding alternative land to build a road along Parlalpur if erosion damages the existing one,” he said.
Residents of Gopalpur in Manikchak block said that erosion had hit a 3km stretch between Lalutola and Kamaltipur.
“The situation at Uttar Hukumattola of the area is alarming,” a source said.
On Thursday, a delegation of the Left Front visited the erosion-hit areas. The Left leaders said land losers should be offered alternative land by the state government.“We also want the state to arrange at least one job per family of erosion victims,” said Debajyoti Sinha, the Malda district Citu secretary.