‘Centre has not provided funds for river erosion control since 2015’

Kolkata: State Irrigation and Waterways minister Manas Bhunia on Wednesday alleged that Centre has not given a single penny to the state government since 2015 to check river erosion.

In reply to questions raised by MLAs in the Assembly, Bhunia said that his department has been making efforts to save the people in the erosion-prone areas in the North Bengal region. In a veiled attack on the BJP, Bhunia alleged that people were allowed to erect their shelters along the Mahananda River.

Around 9 blocks in north Bengal are flood-prone. Out of 3,385 square km areas along the river, 36 per cent of this are prone to flooding. The situation was deplorable in 1,218 square km areas, the minister pointed out.

Bhunia also said that there are Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh River commissions but no Indo-Bhutan River commission has been set up despite repeated requests to the Centre. In case of two hours of prolonged rainfall, water comes downstream. He urged the BJP MLAs to take a delegation to the Prime Minister and Union minister of Jal Shakti Ministry.

Meanwhile, Bhunia was directed to seek technical expertise from IIT Kharagpur, Jadavpur University, and Calcutta University to devise a permanent solution for the erosion issues affecting the Sagar Islands. “Every year, Sagar Island is facing erosion. We need a permanent solution. However, short-term measures are being taken for conducting Gangasagar Mela in 2025,” Bhunia had said recently.