Malsisar damned!

A portion of a dam at the ambitious Malsisar’s Kumbharam Arya Lift Canal project came crashing down much before it could be inaugurated. The dam, built at an estimated cost of Rs 588 crore, washed away the hopes of people living in Malsisar, Khetri, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and 1473 other surrounding villages who were waiting for it to quench their thirst from the Indira Gandhi canal water.

The village surrounding the dam Kakreyu submerged in water flowing thick and fast from the dam. The district administration and police have rushed to the spot pushing the rescue operation. No loss of life has been reported so far. Teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the spot from Jaipur. Hemant Gera, Secretary of Disaster Management, is keeping a close watch on the situation. Meanwhile, Jhunjhunu Collector Dinesh Kumar Yadav told DNA that there has been no loss of life and no major damage to property so far. Rescue operations are on. The administration declared a red alert in the district and have closed down some routes as a precautionary measure.

“It’s a matter of investigation. The flood water has entered a few houses, government buildings, buildings of police station, tehsil, power station and treasury inflicting damages to walls. But government records are safe. We have diverted the flow of water to open areas by deploying JCBs and putting sandbags in the stream of flow. We will not spare the guilty,” said Yadav.       

How it happened

The water in the dam breached the walls and inundated the surrounding areas. It created panic and people ran for cover as the flowing water created a flood-like situation and washed uprooted trees and electricity poles on its way down.  

Several low-lying areas were flooded as water from the collapsed dam rushed into the residential areas in Malsisar.

"The newly-built dam with the total capacity of 47000 million litres of water was filled with around 44000 million litres when gushes of water breached through newly constructed but ‘weak’ wall of the dam. The water then flooded the surrounding areas damaging the pump house and machines of Dechlorination House. The dam is being maintained by Nagarjuna Constructions. It has not been handed over to the government.  

Project Factfile:

• Launch of the project: August 2013
• Total budget: Rs 588 crore
• Beneficiary areas: Jhunjhunu, Sikar and 1473 surrounding villages
• Work completion date: December 2018 (as announced in Assembly)  
• Area of the reservoir: 1.5 lakh sq metre
• Capacity: 47000 million litres

Politics over dam

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, on her recent visit to Jhunjhunu, had claimed that the state government completed the Kumbharam Arya Lift canal in a record four-year time which the Congress government could not do in 40 years. Former MLA from Congress Rita Choudhary blamed BJP government for this mishap. She said that the government, just to inaugurate this project before elections to bag poll benefits, expedited the work without taking care of the quality.

“BJP has rushed the work just to cut the ribbon. It’s the negligence of the government which has cost us this damage,” said Choudhary.

On the other hand, Member of Parliament from Jhunjhunu Santosh Ahlawat said that Congress should not play politics with disaster.

“It’s a major setback for us. It has damaged the project which is meant to cater to the water requirements of people of this area. Congress should not view it with a political angle,” she said.  

Outcome:

The project will miss its date crashing dreams of lakhs of people pinning their hopes on this dam for water supply in this desert area. Three months ago, the government has started supplying water to few areas on a pilot basis in some part of Jhunjhunu and Malsisar.

Committee of 3  chief engineers formed to inquire about the cases of this incident. Who so ever is found negligent, action will be taken against that official, said PHED minister Surendra Goyal and added that people won't face any trouble related to water Rajat Mishra, principal secretary PHED and groundwater department has reached the spot.