Police camp sinks as erosion wreaks havoc on banks of River Ganga

Malda: Erosion along the banks of Ganga took a fierce turn with the sinking of a police camp and large stretches falling prey to the river’s advances in Mahanadatola Gram Panchayat (GP), in Ratua I Block.

As a result, villages like Srikantotola, Jitutola, Kantotola, Maniramtola, Pataldanga and Budhiramtola are spending sleepless nights from the fear of being washed away by the river. Erosion has further damaged embankments in Gopalpur GP of Manikchak block, and many families have started relocating to safer locations from their houses in North and South Hukumattola.

Samar Mukherjee, MLA Ratua, blamed Delhi for not acting sincerely on the issue that has affected almost 10 lakh people along the banks of Ganga in Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal.

According to locals of Mahanadatola, Ganga was around 15 kilometers away from GP almost 10 years ago, but now a major portion of the whole GP has sunk into the river. They also fear that erosion at the current rate may soon wipe the whole GP in a few years. Almost 20 acres of land is being lost in the river everyday there. In Hukumattola, erosion took a rapid pace from Monday morning, gobbling both agricultural and residential lands.

“Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal are non-BJP run states and so the Central government is paying no heed to this problem that continues to affect a huge number of people. Immediate action on the issue which affects lives of around 10 lakh people should be taken by Delhi. Manihari and Amdabad GPs of Bihar, Maharajpur of Jharkhand, Ratua 1 Manikchak Kaliachak 2 and 3 of Malda district and Dhulian and Samsergunj of Murshidabad are heavily affected by the erosion of Ganga,” Mukherjee alleged.

A recent survey was done by a joint team of engineers from these three states and the reports are awaited.

Nitin Singhania, district Magistrate, Malda, said: “The Irrigation department has undertaken a survey to determine work to be done on an urgent basis. Affected families are being given benefits through the block administration. People having lost their land in erosion will also be given patta (land right documents).”