Muzaffarpur: On Sunday morning, the embankment and paved road of Tirhut Main Canal in Raksa Panchayat under Madwan block of the district suddenly broke up to about 40 feet. Due to the breach, the water of the canal quickly spread to the fields of nearby villages. The rural road between Raksa Dakshan and Raksa Deh has been cut off, while around five acres of fields in half a dozen villages including Raksa, Vashanpur, Pari and Chenpur have been inundated.
Local farmers are also worried about their crops being flooded. As a result of continuous rain from Wednesday to Saturday night, along with the storm, canal water entered the fields and flooded them. As soon as the incident was reported, the villagers immediately informed the local MLA and former minister Engineer Ajith Kumar. The MLA then immediately informed the Madwan block administration, senior officials of the water resources department and the local police. The administrative machinery was set in motion, along with the officers of the department and the police reached the spot and reviewed the situation.
Informing about the incident, SDM (West) Sneha Kumari said that as soon as the information was received, the concerned department was immediately alerted. Repair work has been started on war footing at the accident site. "The water level and pressure in the canal was so high that the embankment collapsed, so the possibility of the collapse due to pressure is very unlikely. An investigation into the entire incident has been started, and the repair work will be completed soon," the SDM said.
On the other hand, the JDM MLA of the county and former minister Engineer Ajit Kumar has taken a strong stand on the incident and termed it as a conspiracy. He said that the embankment of the same canal had broken earlier on August 9. The MLA said, "This dam did not break on its own due to water pressure, it was cut by some anti-social elements like in the past. The police administration should immediately register a case and conduct a thorough investigation. The culprits should be identified, arrested and sent to jail."
Local resident Rajkumar said that this paved road on the canal originates from Rewa Road and runs parallel to the canal, leading straight to Champaran. Due to the road being cut, the villagers are facing some problem in commuting. Currently, a team of water resources department is working with machines and laborers to repair the broken part and bring the situation under control.