Chandil Dam radial gates opened, Displaced persons’ localities inundated

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Sept 8:  The almost unabated rainfall over the past three days triggered the rise in Chandil dam’s water level leading to the opening of its 12 radial gates. Seven of the gates were lifted by one meter each while the remaining five by half meter each. It may be mentioned that the water level recorded at the Dam on Thursday night was 181.80 meters while on Friday morning the figure stood at 181.90 meters. The constant rise in water level prompted the opening of five radial gates simultaneously on Friday at 9 am.

The opening of the Chandil Dam radial gates resulted in water gushing into the settlements of displaced persons thereby compounding their woes. These displaced settlers are a worried lot, expecting flood-like situations especially with the rising water level. Their worries are not unfounded as they reside in flood-prone, low lying areas ever since their eviction from their land that had been taken over by the project.

The water from the Chandil Dam has entered the villages on the dam’s banks, adversely affecting families residing in these places. The students, particularly those from Ichagarh, are facing difficulties in commuting to school. They are currently resorting to availing boat services to reach the outskirts and dry areas for reaching their institutions. Additionally, those who commute daily for work are also facing commuting hitches.

The displaced families residing in the low lying areas around the Dam’s embankments, while stating their multiple grievances, accused the authorities concerned that it was unlawful to displace them by claiming their land for the project without providing resettlement alternatives and full compensation. They urged the project administration to first compensate the affected families in full and ensure complete resettlement facilities for all before storing water in the dam. Every year, the villages in the low-lying areas were experiencing floods submerged area face flooding, exacerbating the difficulties faced by the displaced families.

According to reports, due to the lack of complete compensation and resettlement facilities that were to have been provided by the project administration after displacement, many displaced families had been forced to continue residing in their old villages.