Konar irrigation project faces breach within 24 hours

A day after the Konar Irrigation project was inaugurated by Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, water flow to Giridih district's Bagodar area under the scheme was stopped following a breach in an embankment on Thursday, an official said.

Work to repair the embankment was on, so water flow to Bagodar area of Giridih district under the Konar Irrigation project was stopped, the official said.

Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department, Arun Kumar Singh in a tweet said after getting information about the washing away of a part of embankment and damage to crops on Thursday, a report was summoned from the chief engineer of the Water Resources Department, Hazaribag.

Prima facie, 'rat holes' caused the damage to the 'kacha' embankment, breaching 25/30 feet near Kusumraja village in Giridih district's Bagodar block, he said.

A high-level team headed by chief engineer, 'agrim yojana' (plan in advance project) of the department has been set up, asking it to submit a report within 24 hours, he said.

The chief minister on Wednesday inaugurated the first phase of Konar Irrigation Project to benefit 85 villages in Hazaribag, Giridih and Bokaro districts of the state. PTI PVR RG RG