Amidst reports of unease at India-Nepal border, Bihar CM visits border town Jainagar to oversee flood protection works

PATNA: Amidst the reports of unease in relationship between India and Nepal, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday visited Madhubani district’s Jainagar on the Indo-Nepal border to oversee the ongoing anti-erosion and flood protection works on the embankments of Kamla river.
Accompanied by the state’s water resources department (WRD) minister Sanjay Kumar Jha and some senior officials, CM also inspected Jainagar embankment, Kamla weir and Naruwar embankment during his visit.
After inspecting the Kamla weir, CM asked the WRD officials to convert the weir into a barrage to create additional irrigation capacity.
“The conversion of Kamla weir into a barrage will create an additional irrigation capacity for 23,788 acres. Then, it will provide a guaranteed irrigation facility to the farmers of this area, leading to their economic growth,” CM said while asking the officials to make a barrage on the Kamla weir.
While inspecting the Kamla river embankment at 1.3 kilometer and 1.4 kilometer points near the Indo-Nepal border at Jainagar, CM asked the officials to do iron sheet piling besides raising the height of the embankment to strengthen them before arrival of the floods.
While inspecting the ongoing construction works at the Naruwar embankment, CM advised the officials to do steel sheet piling to strengthen the embankment to protect the nearby habitations from the onslaught of floods.
He also asked the officials to do adequate earth filling near the embankments to make them more strengthened.
DM, Madhubani who was present during the inspection of embankments, informed the CM that the district administration has already provided necessary compensation to all those people whose houses were damaged after a breach in Naruwar embankment during the last year’s flood. Some local people present there thanked the CM for timely payment of compensation for their damaged houses.
CM further asked the WRD officials to ensure timely completion of the embankment strengthening work. He asked the WRD engineers and officials to maintain vigil for protection of the embankments during the flood period.
State’s chief secretary Deepak Kumar and development commissioner Arun Kumar Singh also accompanied the CM during the inspection of embankments.