Stalled work opens gates of flood fear
The lockdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic has stalled the upgrade of three sluice gates on the Kangsabati river in East Midnapore district, triggering fears that over 30 villages will be flooded in the monsoon this year also.
The irrigation department had started the re-construction of the sluice gates at Garpurshottam, Radhabon and Gopalhazra in Panskura and Pingla blocks in January.
The Rs 4-crore project once completed would save the East Midnapore and West Midnapore villages from the annual flooding.
“If we don’t restart the project immediately, then several villages will be flooded in the coming monsoon,” said a labourer attached to a private contractor in Pingla. He said the project was supposed to completed by mid-June.
