December 8, 2022
Mausam Noor’s Special Mention on the need for the Union Government to take up riverbank erosion prevention measures in Malda district
Sir, each year the district of Malda in West Bengal is severely impacted by the erosion of the Ganga river. Since 2017, nearly 320 acres of land and ten kilometres of the river have been lost to these erosions. Sir, 2,000 families have been stranded due to the destruction, of which 400 were stranded in this year alone. These yearly erosions have impacted 23,000 people in the last five years while damaging infrastructure worth Rs. 250 crore. The damaged infrastructure includes important public and private properties such as citizens’ houses,
temples, mosques, schools, orchards, markets as well as newlyconstructed roads to the villages. In February, 2022, hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee had written to the Ministry of Water Resources, requesting them to restore the extended 120 kilometre jurisdiction of the Farakka Barrage Protection Authority. The Farakka Barrage is the only barrier capable of limiting the damage caused by the Ganga’s siltation and the aforementioned jurisdiction would help administrations in taking up urgent bank protection
schemes in the whole stretch. However, to this day, no action has been taken, causing the destruction to continue. I request the Minister to take urgent cognisance of the matter and ensure that public life and property are not ruined further.
