JAGATSINGHPUR: After Palasol and Dingeswer villages, deep holes have been formed in farm lands at Tanara and Adheikula villages under Raghunathpur tehsil in Jagatsinghpur district on Sunday, leaving the villagers panicked.
While villagers have stopped going to their paddy fields, the district administration has pressed a team of officials to investigate the phenomenon. Villagers said each of the holes is five to 10 feet deep and four to five feet wide. Additional Tehsildar of Raghunathpur Manas Ranjan Tripathy said a team of officials, led by local revenue inspector, visited the villages on Monday to inquire. They have advised villagers not to panic.
Last week, 30 such holes were found in different paddy fields at Palasol and Dingeswer villages. The width of each hole was around three to four feet and depth five to six feet. After preliminary investigation, it was found that IOCL had constructed a drainage system and laid pipelines through these villages in 1980. These drains were not properly filled or packed. It was suspected that the earth above these drains might have caved in after rainfall, forming deep holes. Collector Yamini Sarangi said the district administration has sought intervention of the Revenue and Soil Conservation officials to conduct an inquiry.