| Maksam Tayeng |
Pasighat, Aug 4: A team of East Siang District Administration and Water Resources Department (WRD) officials on Monday visited the flood-affected wet rice cultivation (WRC) fields at Borguli village under Mebo sub-division to assess the extensive damage caused by severe riverbank erosion along the Siang river.
According to WRD Assistant Engineer Bani Langkam, monsoon-triggered flooding has eroded nearly 600 metres of the riverbank, washing away around 10,800 square metres of agricultural land as of August 3. The erosion has severely threatened the WRC fields, the primary source of livelihood for many farming families in the area.
The assessment team was led by DC in-charge and ADC (HQ) Pebika Lego, and included Mebo ADC Nancy Yirang, Namsing CO Toimi Tagi, Er Bani Langkam, Borguli Gaon Burah Nogen Yirang, other public leaders, and local villagers.
The officials inspected the affected sites and assured residents that a detailed damage assessment report, along with proposals for long-term flood mitigation measures, would be prepared and submitted to the competent authorities.
Meanwhile, Mebo MLA Oken Tayeng, who directed the inspection of flood-hit areas under the subdivision, urged the State Government to take immediate steps to address the recurring flood and erosion crisis along the Siang River.
He said villages such as Borguli, Seram, Namsing, Mer, Gadum, and Sigar suffer heavy losses every year due to flood, resulting in the erosion of hundreds of hectares of agricultural and residential land.
Calling for a permanent solution, Tayeng stressed the need to construct a flood protection embankment along the Siang River from Sigar to Mer village. He said the project would require support from both the State and Central Governments to safeguard the lives, livelihoods, and farmlands of people in the Lower Mebo and Monggu Banggo areas.