SILCHAR, July 23: Owing to the mass soil erosion, the residents of PWD road of Singerband Part V, Lakhipur took out a peace rally from Barak bridge on Friday. In addition to this, residents of that area have submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through SDO (Civil) Lakhipur, Cachar, for immediate repair work of erosion affected road on the same day. The memorandum, received by Pradip Kumar Gupta, circle officer, Lakhipur, speaks volumes about the ill-fated residents of that area. It has been stated that if permanent protective measures are not taken on time, then the number of affected house and families will increase. 40 non-governmental organizations along with the a large number of residents of the area and students of P K College and Singerband High School participated in the rally. Nilbir Singha, principal, P K College, K. Champalal Singha and several others also took part in the peace rally. The rally halted at the office of the SDO (Civil) of Lakhipur.
It has been estimated that lives of 30,000 residents of Katpanpur Rupaibali and Singerband GPs are in danger. Singerband, a village under Singerband Gaon Panchayat under Lakhipur sub-division, is located in the southern side of Barak River, Lakhipur. There is River Bridge that connects Binnakandie Part I to its sub-divisional town. However, during the monsoons, condition of the roads worsens. Due to erosion, the connecting road is being cut-off and as such, people of surrounding villages are facing troubles. Students are unable to attend their classes properly. In addition to this, patients, pregnant women and aged persons are also suffering immensely from this grave problem. Office goers and daily wageworkers are also unable to perform their daily duties. People living in that part (Part V) are worrying about the pathetic condition and status of soil erosion. It can be easily understood that if prompt action is not taken, then the situation may get worse which in turn, will affect more families.
Owing to the mass erosion that stretches up to 1000 meters of length, more than 100 numbers of dwelling houses have already been eroded. Some of the houses are hanging and thousands of Bighas of land have been eroded which in turn, have made many families homeless and landless. It has been informed by the people that they have intimated the matter to S Viswanathan, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Cachar and they are satisfied with his prompt action. The Deputy Commissioner immediately sent an engineer of Water Resources Department who, met the people and discussed the issue at length. A number of bamboos were purchased and a temporary protection has been provided to stop further landslide.
The residents of Singerband have urged upon the Prime Minister to direct the departments and authorities concerned to repair the erosion affected PWD road and provide protective measures for permanent settlement to stop further erosion of road and dwelling houses standing at Singerband Part V under Lakhipur sub-division, Cachar. A copy of the memorandum has been sent to the Union Ministers of Water Resources and River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Rural Development, Road Transports and Highways and Panchayati Raj, all headquartered at New Delhi. (Source:SentinelAssam)