Devi river embankment weakens, raises flood fear

JAGATSINGHPUR: The fragile condition of Devi river embankment is giving villagers of Naugaon block of Jagatsinghpur and Kakatpur block of Puri sleepless nights as heavy rains trigger apprehension of a flood-like situation.Every year the flood water passes through Bhandishai village before entering the sea.

However, nothing has been done to build a concrete stone-packed embankment because of which residents of nearly 25 villages of Naugaon and Kakatpur live in a dreaded condition as flood waters leak through the weak embankment into their villages.

Although, lakhs of rupees are spent in packing sand bags and bamboo fences for strengthening the embankment, there has been no initiative to come up with a permanent solution so far. Also, three spurs which were constructed on the river bank for protection against flood waters are now damaged and no repair is carried out.

Precautionary measures have been taken to strengthen embankment of Devi river so there is no reason to panic. The pond on opposite side of the embankment has also been filled with sand,” informed Assistant Executive Engineer of Balikuda irrigation department, S Priyaranjan Das.