Portion of Khandepar river bank washes away

PONDA

: Following incessant rains over the past couple of days, a portion of land along the banks of the

Khandepar

river has receded at the spot where the bandhara contractor had excavated a pit to consruct a wall.


The rather large tract of land was washed away owing to the rising levels of the river and strong currents, which also washed away around three

coconut

trees.

Locals have blamed the contractor for negligence.

The water resources department (WRD) had recently appointed a contractor to construct a bandhara over the Khandepar river.

The contractor had even dumped mud into the river basin to erect the bandhara. However, after opposition from locals, the WRD dropped the plan and had asked the contractor to remove the mud.

The contractor had also dug up the land to erect poles at the edge of the river basin.

However, as the work was shelved, the pit was left unattended. Locals fear that the shore will recede further if a retaining wall is not constructed at the site.

Villagers have also demanded that the contractor take immediate measures to halt soil erosion as the pit was dug without any permissions from the local authorities.