Puri: Farmland over 30 acres were inundated following a 20 feet breach in the embankment of the Nuagaon Distributary Canal at Suninda within Puri’s Balanga Water Resources Division on Thursday night.
According to sources, the villagers residing in Gadachandanpur were caught off-guard as the water from the canal gushed into their village. They said more farmlands would submerge under water. if the breach was not sealed at the earliest.
The locals alleged that this has been a recurring problem in the absence of adequate repairwork and have demanded compensation for loss of crops due to the breach.
The Irrigation Department is planning to use sand packs as an immediate measure to control the water flow. “The canal was formed over a sandy bed. Unfortunately, it breached last night. Restoration work has already begun and it will be completed by this evening,” assured Executive Engineer, Baikunthanath Dalai.
