Correspondent
RUKSIN, 29 Jun: Farmers and villagers of Mirem village under Bilat circle in East Siang have blamed construction of faulty drains and inferior quality culverts along Mirem-Mikong-Jonai (MMJ) road which led to entry of rainfall triggered flood waters into the paddy fields at Latu Rikmeng and damage to the paddy cultivation.
The sufferers alleged that M/s Puna Hinda Company, entrusted for reconstruction of the 14-km long MMJ road, erected pin-wall of the drains without using rod and quality RCC materials as per specification.
They said that the company workers minimized the size of the natural drains-cum-water canals, which is causing overflow of rainwater and creating the disastrous situation.
“The company workers are doing the work without proper technical assessment of water flow thereby pushing the local farmers into problems,” lamented Okut Darang of Mirem, one of the sufferers.
The local youths of Mirem, who are concerned over the situation, criticized the role of ‘MMJ-Road Construction Public Monitoring Committee’ and alleged that the committee members are not properly monitoring the activities.
The affected farmers have sought the intervention of the executive engineer of Pasighat division PWD (implementing agency) and demanded restructuring of the drains and culverts along the road with proper technical assessment of the water flow.
When contacted, Puna Hinda Company’s caretaker Tade Rido, who is looking after the construction activities of MMJ road, said that construction works of the drains and culverts at Latu area are not yet finished. He said that the Company is taking up responsibility to increase the height of drain pin-walls based on requirements.
