A fresh layer of sand laid on the Jania breach, a portion of which got washed away just hours after plugging on Monday. (Express photo)A day after the plugging of plugging largest breach of around 600 feet wide at Jania village, around 20-25 feet of the newly built bandh was washed hours later on Tuesday. A visit to the site revealed that the level of newly plugged breach was lower than the existing band thus making it vulnerable to breach. The already existing bandh is used as a road by villagers. From this level one had to climb down 8 feet to access the spot where the breach was plugged.
“The level of newly built bandh is so low from the already existing that even a little extra water can breach it to reach other side of the bandh,” said Surjit Singh, a resident of Jania Chahal village. He added that even uneducated villagers were able to see flaws in work being done by expert engineers at the site.
The work to plug this new breach started on Tuesday morning and was completed by the afternoon.
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The district administration on Monday had patted its back for completing the plugging after eight days work with the help of the Army and the Drainage Department.
According to the DC, three lakh sand bags, 2 lakh cubic feet boulders and 270 quintal steel wire was used to plug this breach.
The breach had taken place at around 3 am on Tuesday, but due to less water in the river, the village was not inundated.
MNREGA workers, Drainage Department workers, skilled mechanics were engaged under technical guidance to plug this breach.
On the other side, people of Mundi Chohlian village complained that due to non-plugging of Gatta Mandi Kasu breach, the water was entering from the village again. Mundi Cholian was under 9-10 feet water for over a week due to Gatta Mundi Kaasu breach.
Meanwhile, Sonu, a resident of Mundi Chohlian, rued that administration is not coming to plug the breach of Gatta Mundi Kassu and the water from that side was still entering their village already even though they had come back to their homes after two weeks. There was about one feet water in the village on Tuesday evening.
Village passes resolution to strengthen Dhussi Bandh
A village in Jalandhar has decided to strengthen bandh passing from their village. Though the bandh passing suffered no breach but the villagers do not want to take any chance in the ongoing rainy season.
People of Gatti Peer Bakhsh village on Tuesday passed a resolution in the village and a team of 30 members has been made and the duties have been assigned by name. In the resolution, the villagers have mentioned that a fine of Rs 2000 will be imposed on those, who have been deputed for this work but fail to join this community service.
“We have taken this decision after discussing the same with village panchayat as environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal had asked us to act before any tragedy because there is no use after reacting to the tragedy,” said Didar Singh of village Gatti Peer Bakhsh.
