[ Bengia Ajum ]
ANINI, 17 Oct: New Anaya village in Dibang Valley district was hit hard by a flash flood on the Oct 13.
The houses of four families, headed by Torku Mimi, Jeme Mimi, Sikku Mimi and Paha Mimi, were totally destroyed in the flashflood, leaving them homeless. The houses of several others have also been partially affected.
Sharing the ordeal, Sikku Mimi termed the disaster “manmade.”
“The flood which devastated New Anaya is a manmade disaster. The ongoing PMGSY project being executed by Zee Engineering Construction Company is the main cause. The reckless earth-cutting and dumping of waste materials without following the proper engineering technology caused the disaster,” alleged Mimi.
He claimed that the villagers tried to warn the contractor and the department concerned of potential danger many a time. “When the execution of the project got started, people tried to stop it because the villagers feared a landslide. Many a time the public of New Anaya urged the authority of the company to stop the execution, but they didn’t stop the work. Due to their negligence, the incident took place,” he added.
Mimi further claimed that the area had been hit by a landslide earlier also, “due to wrong construction.”
“First of all, they are not following proper road alignment. Secondly, this project, from Ranli 0 Point to Old Kano village, at the cost of Rs 56 crore for approximately 46 kms, is being implemented where human population is almost nil,” he said.
Local MLA Mipi Mihu visited the village on Monday and took stock of the damages caused by the unprecedented flashflood.
“I have instructed the PHED to immediately restore the water supply, and the NHIDCL to clear the block point for traffic movement on NH 313. Have also requested the DDMO and the departments to carry out an assessment of damaged private as well as government properties and submit the report to the disaster management department in Itanagar,” the MLA said in a social media post.