The Ganga started gobbling up fresh chunks of land in its left bank at Manikchak block in Malda district on Thursday morning, much to the concern of settlers there.
Such sudden erosion prompted several villagers to abandon their homes and shift to safer places with their belongings. A team from the state irrigation department has also visited the area and initiated temporary remedies to prevent erosion.
Sources said that since Thursday morning, the river, which has Malda and Murshidabad districts on both its banks, started eroding land in some villages of Gopalpur panchayat in Malda's Manikchak block.
Rafikul Sheikh, a resident of Hukumattola, said their village was affected in the fresh erosion.
“The river is constantly eroding land along a 15-metre-long stretch of the bank. If the erosion continues, a number of families will soon lose their homes. That is why we have shifted our belongings to safer places and are staying away from our houses,” he said.
People load their belongings on a trailer van to shift to places safer than erosion-hit Gopalpur in Manikchak, Malda, on Thursday. Soumya De Sarkar
Binod Sheikh, another villager, said that they lost their homes and agricultural land in erosion earlier as well.
“We had to stay in flood shelters for months. Then, we somehow managed to build hutments with our hard-earned money on whatever little land was left after the erosion. Now, the river is inching closer to our houses again,” said Binod.
With fresh erosion being reported again from Malda, BJP and Trinamul leaders of the district started trading charges on the issue.
“The Ganga is a national river, and yet, the Centre doesn’t provide funds for its anti-erosion jobs. The state alone cannot handle the situation. Even the Farakka Barrage Authority, which used to carry out such jobs, has now stopped taking any initiative. It is disappointing that the BJP legislators here are sitting silently instead of approaching the central government for help,” said Sabina Yeasmin, the minister of state for irrigation, who is also from Malda.
Earlier, on a number of occasions, chief minister Mamata Banerjee lambasted the Narendra Modi government for alleged apathy in addressing the issue of erosion caused by the Ganga.
Every year, acres of land, along with houses, educational institutions and religious places, are being gobbled up by the river, she had pointed out.
State irrigation minister Partha Bhowmik has also been vocal on the Centre’s alleged silence on erosion and flash floods caused by rivers which descend from Bhutan to north Bengal.
“The BJP MLAs and MPs should act proactively and reach out to the Centre, seeking funds and necessary intervention to handle such natural disasters,” he had said.
Leaders of the saffron camp, however, spoke differently.
“Bengal ministers and other Trinamul leaders make tall talks but they have not taken any serious initiative so far to address the issue. The state government lacks the necessary infrastructure, planning and funds to address erosion. That is why they are passing the buck to the Centre. I have personally written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of erosion here and will be in Delhi soon for a follow-up,” said Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, the BJP MLA of Englishbazar in Malda.