JAJPUR: Panic gripped riverside villages of Dasarathpur block in Jajpur district after a major portion of the embankment of Baitarani river caved in on Thursday. Around 50 feet of the embankment collapsed near Balarampur village in the morning, sparking flood fear in Kamardihi, Kayan and Nizampur panchayats. Sources said nearly 75 per cent of the embankment stretch caved in.
Local residents claimed the embankment collapsed due to substandard work carried out by the contractor concerned. “The embankment was constructed some days back. It collapsed due to substandard work. We took up the matter with the officials of Water Resources department but they paid no heed to our complaint,” alleged Subrat Das, a local.
Das further said flood fear has gripped residents as the IMD has predicted heavy rainfall due to the cyclonic circulation over Bay of Bengal. “Heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas will lead to floods in Baitarani river. As major portion of the embankment has caved in, the river water will flood many villages of the three panchayats,” he said.
Later on the day, the block development officer of Dasarathpur, local tehsildar and officials of the Water Resources department visited the cave-in site to take stock of the situation. An official said the damaged embankment stretch will be repaired on war-footing. Recently, around 100 feet embankment collapsed near Datpur in Dasarathpur block. However, the Water Resources department is yet to take any action in this regard, alleged locals.