Corruption in Bethukandi dyke repair; Gross irregularities in earth filling violating Minister’s instruction?

DDIPR of the Barak Valley region shared an image of earth filling in the official WhatsApp group of media personnel. He captioned, “Visual of earth filling in Bethukandi”. As the people of Silchar are already aware, the breach in Bethukandi Dyke was isolated as the single largest reason resulting in the unprecedented deluge of 2022.

Water Resources Minister of Assam, Pijush Hazarika has himself instructed to expedite the work and complete the renovation before the monsoon hits the Valley. The locals of Bethukandi and the adjacent areas thanked the Minister for his intervention.

While the Minister is doing his job from the State headquarters, the local watchdogs at ground zero are submerged in gross corruption. As the DDIPR mentioned, earth-filling work is going on in full swing. But the earth or soil that is being used to do the filling exposes gross corruption.

It is known that the earth filling at embankments needs to be done using Paddy Field soil which is known for high water retention and not alluvial soil (Poly Mati) that gets easily washed away. However, under the supervision of K Zaman, executive engineer of Water Resources, hundreds of trucks are excavating soil from the shore of the river banks and dumping it at the embankment.

When Barak Bulletin correspondent went to the office of executive officer, K Zaman, he himself said that soils from the bank of the river must not be used for filling at embankments, instead, paddy field soil selected after testing must be excavated and used. However, Zaman had no answer when the correspondent showed footage of the excavation from the bank usage at the embankment.

“No this should not happen,” he said. And immediately removed his phone and dialed a few sub-contractors urging them to refrain from using the riverbank soil. The whole process, however, looked like an eyewash in front of the press. On the other hand, the residents of the Angarjur area in Rongpur are fearing that this excavation will change the course of the river, making them vulnerable to flooding water.

“Hundreds of trucks, loaded with the river bank soil, have driven towards Bethukandi since yesterday. This excavation is illegal in nature as it is not allowed to excavate soil from the river bank. These zones are protected by the Forest department. Now, we are grateful that the government has taken initiative to repair the dyke in Bethukandi, but they must be mindful so that they do not put the lives of the people living in Angarjuar in danger,” said a local resident.

When the Forest Ranger was asked why they did not prohibit excavation from the bank of the river, he replied, “Order has come from the top in the district administration and we are simply following it.”

Many locals have also alleged that the people who have the sub-contracts of earth filling are involved in illegally trading sand and soil. Now it all boils down to, who shall be held accountable for the gross irregularities happening in broad daylight under the watch of the administration. If Bethukandi was the centre of attraction during the flood, should it also not have the attention during the repair? Why are local representatives completely ignoring the seriousness of the zone?