Gobind Patel of Bihar is in his early 30s. Along with five others, he is here for the last two months.
Even as people watch from a distance, he climbs down the gate of Singur dam with the help of a rope, which is tied to the emergency door fixed for one of the gates.
Covered with water proof trousers, Gobind Patel and his colleagues get down to the basement of the gate while water gushes from the gaps of the emergency gate. Their job is to remove the old iron wires tied to the gates and replace them with the new ones.
Later, they have to replace the rubber seal at the bottom of the gate, which prevents any water leak. They drill holes to the rubber seal which is to be fixed to the gate with bolts.
The team works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day with Sunday being a holiday.
It has been taking them about seven days to replace the iron wire of the gate and fix the rubber seal.
“We are working for the past two months and it may take another two to three months to replace the wires and rubber seals to all other gates.
All the required material has been purchased by the company, which hired us and is providing accommodation for us here,” Mr. Gobind Patel told The Hindu .
“Swapna Projects Private Limited has been awarded the work under tender process for an amount of ₹1.7 crore. Replacement of wire ropes and rubber seals is done for two gates,” said Irrigation Engineer Ramulu.
