Tripura aims to complete river embankment repairs by June, amidst concerns raised by locals and a legislator about alleged illegal construction by Bangladesh near the border.
Tripura Aims to Finish Embankment Repairs by June
Tripura has set a deadline of June to complete all maintenance and construction work on its river embankments, according to PWD and Water Resources Secretary Kiran Gitte, who made the announcement on Sunday, April 20th.
This announcement follows concerns raised by CPIM legislator Dipankar Sen and residents of Belonia town in Tripura’s South District. They allege that Bangladesh is illegally constructing another embankment near the Muhuri River. Tripura shares a significant 856 km long international border with Bangladesh.
Concerns Over Alleged Illegal Construction
Dipankar Sen, the MLA for the Belonia Assembly Constituency, reported that the embankment is approximately 1.5 km long and 20 ft high.
Sen alleges that Bangladesh is carrying out this construction within 50 yards of the international border, a violation of existing agreements. He stated that international pacts prohibit construction within 150 yards of the zero line, but this embankment is situated as close as 50 yards and even less than 10 yards in some areas.
Sen warned that this construction could severely impact the town in the event of future flooding.
Following these concerns, a team of government officials, including Secretary Gitte and senior BSF officials, visited the site and held a meeting.
Government Response and Repair Efforts
After the inspection, Secretary Gitte stated that work is currently underway at 43 locations across the state for flood management.
“Water resources and flood management departments are working diligently. In some places, work has already started, and in some places, it has not yet. We are repairing old river embankments and carrying out maintenance work on broken embankments. By June, all the work would be completed. For the major works in Belonia, we have decided to put five engineers here on a deputation basis to complete the work within two months. There is no need to panic,” Gitte said.
The official acknowledged that the state experienced unprecedented flooding last year, which caused significant damage to river embankments, particularly in the South District.
“Some works are underway. Work is ongoing on both the left and right banks of the Muhuri River, and some more work will be starting. We have come here with local representatives for that,” he added.
