District Collector B. Abdul Nasar has instructed the Additional District Magistrate to seek expert opinion and submit a report on the construction of a check-dam across the Pallikkal river at Pavumba.
The district administration had earlier held meetings with the residents and people’s representatives after it was alleged that the unscientific construction is inundating houses and farms in the area.
“If will be checked if the check-dam is flooding the area or blocking the flow. If there are any damages or technical flaws, measures will be taken to rectify it,” said the Collector.
Engineers from the Minor and Major Irrigation Departments and Harbour Engineering officials will be in charge of conducting the study.
Houses inundated
During the rain last week, hundreds of houses in Karunagappally and Kunnathoor taluks were inundated and crops in many acres were destroyed. Most of the farmers suffered huge losses and 308 families were shifted to relief camps at Pavumba, Thodiyoor and Sooranadu North.
While officials from the Irrigation Department said that the flooding was caused by heavy rain, residents alleged that the authorities had ignored their protest against the construction of the check-dam, built by the department for irrigating paddy fields.
The department maintained that the dam, which was only 1.5 meters high, was no threat to the water flow. “The area easily gets waterlogged due to its geographic features,” said an official.
The farmers in the area said their livelihood was in jeopardy as they lost most of their crop just days before the harvest. They added that the flooding stared after the dam was built and even a moderate rain now inundated their farms and paddy fields. The Agriculture Department had already made a primary assessment of the damage at Sasthamcotta, Oachira and Karungappally where water from the Pallikkal river entered huge stretches of paddy fields destroying the entire crop.
