Joint team assesses flood-hit Kongkin paddy fields as MLA Oken Tayeng seeks a permanent embankment to curb recurring erosion
Itanagar: A joint team of the district administration and the Water Resources Department (WRD) inspected the flood-affected Kongkin Wet Rice Cultivation (WRC) fields at Borguli village in Arunachal Pradesh’s Mebo Sub-Division to assess damage caused by severe erosion along the Siang River.
According to WRD Assistant Engineer Er. Bani Langkam, continuous monsoon 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 affected the Kongkin WRC fields, the primary source of livelihood for many farming families in the area.
The inspection team, led by Pasighat ADC (HQ) and Deputy Commissioner-in-Charge Pebika Lego, reviewed the affected sites and assured villagers that a detailed assessment report would be submitted with proposals for long-term flood control and erosion mitigation measures.
Meanwhile, Mebo MLA Oken Tayeng urged the state government to take immediate steps to address the recurring flood and erosion crisis along the Siang River. He said villages including Borguli, Seram, Namsing, Mer, Gadum and Sigar suffer heavy losses every monsoon due to riverbank erosion.
Calling for a permanent solution, Tayeng proposed the construction of a flood protection embankment from Sigar to Mer village, saying the project would require financial and technical support from both the state and central governments to safeguard lives, farmland and infrastructure.
