SHILLONG, SEPT 29: The recent flash flood has made Bholarbitha almost like a ghost village as 300 household have lost everything. Eighty percent of the village is completely washed away and rendering many homeless.
The water current swept away the entire village, close to the mighty Jinjiram river, a tributary of Brahmaputra. The erosion and slit deposit has changed the river route, which now passes through this village.
The village is about 105 km from Tura in West Garo hills district. The village was spread around 2 sq km. A secondary school in the village saw huge damage with the playground disappearing. There are many other villages, which has met similar fate. Two days after the flood water receded, victims discovered that the entire village was washed away.
The devastating flood has taken away their households leaving behind a trail of destruction which is unprecedented. In Chibinang area, eight people lost their lives in the recent flash flood, and the death toll for Garo hills increased to about 52 so far.
Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma and Meghalaya assembly speaker Abu Taher Mondal visited the affected area yesterday. The villagers were seeking immediate relief and were demanding a stronger embankment. The plain belt area of Garo hills is prone to flood.
“To build a stronger embankment in the plain belt area of West Garo hills, we have to relocate the people, who live adjacent to river. We have to convince people to live in safer areas, so that embankment can be built”, chief minister Mukul Sangma said.
The old embankment in the area has breached along several places. The embankment along the area is yet to be completed. Sangma is of the view that a large number of populations have to be shifted for building a stronger embankment, which is a must for protecting the future generation.
There was a massive damage to the embankment under the Rongai valley project. The protection works at Bholarbitha, Sarkarpara and Batavari village were also completed damaged. Sangma toured the entire plain belt area of West Garo hills — Bhaitbari, Rajabala, Phulbari and Chibinang and also South West Garo Hills — Mahendraganj, Kalaichar, Lukaichar, along the international border with Bangladesh. He assured the people that all relief will be made available to the affected people. He also offered his condolences to the bereaved families. Many flood hit victims complained that they have not received adequate relief.
Sangma ordered the deputy commissioner to look into the matter. He also asked the deputy commissioners to provided additional seven days of general relief to the people and if required increase it by another week.
Sangma has asked the block officials to meticulously and carefully assess the damage to households in all the affected blocks.
Sangma also issued instruction to officials of PWD roads to register FIR and cases against persons illegally involved in stone quarries that has affected the ecology in the hills and affected the course of the rivers. The district administration has been asked to work out the requirement for books and uniforms for the damaged and affected schools and other emergency measures for the school children in view of the impending examinations.- By Our Reporter
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