Arunachal: Erosion engulfs major portion of Mebo Dhola Road

The Mebo Dhola Road (MDR), Arunachal Pradesh has again been eroded away at Kesung Patang area in between Borguli and Seram village today which is likely to paralyze normal road communication.

It is worth mentioning here that, to stop the massive soil erosion at this stretches of MDR by Siang River, the people of Seram, Kongkul, Borguli and Kiyit villages, Arunachal Pradesh had carried out several voluntary crash programmes by using traditional means of flood protection. Besides boulder bund, emergency flood control structures, the felling down of trees, banana trees etc were also used to put along the bank of river Siang. But despite all these efforts, the erosion couldn’t be checked and as anticipated another portion of Mebo Dhola Road was washed away by Siang river this evening thereby halting normal movement of traffic, especially the 4 wheelers.

However, the department of PWD is constructing an alternative road from nearby the blocked point so that normal traffics is not disrupted. This new alternative road will be purely temporary and the permanent road will be re-aligned and constructed by surveying the road map after the monsoon season over, informed an official from the department.

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Meanwhile, Ninong Ering, MLA 37th Pasighat West, Arunachal Pradesh who has been a two times Lok Sabha MP and also been as a Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Government of India under UPA regime, has raised a serious concern about a possible major flash flood like that of infamous Chinese flood of the year 2000 or flash flood of 2017 where colour of Siang river had turned completely muddy and the river witnessed an unusual high tide after which the course of river Siang has changed and thereby affecting several villages of the left bank side of Siang river. Ering has cautioned that Government of India need to pay heed to the Siang River issue as Chinese government is likely to use this Siang (Brahmaputra) river as a major weapon to destroy major parts of North –East India.

To cop up with such intensity of flash flood or to face the usual annual flood of Siang river during the monsoon season, the Government of India need to sanction a Mega Project of flood control cum Highway along the bundh along the bank of river Siang. The people this region, especially a committee, SEEANG which has been working on Siang flood issue to save the people out here, has also appealed to the state government to initiate a Mega flood protection project right from North of Sigar village (preferably from Raneghat bridge) to downstream Mer village along Assam- Arunachal boundary.

Reports are also there that, domestic cattle are dying at Mer village under Namsing circle due to cattles grazing on the grasses of flood hit areas as the cattle are not left out with open grasses. In the earlier cases of flood in the past also cattle were seen dying due to drinking flood water and grazing on the flood covered grasses.

The Siang river is turning as a sorrow for this region which has of late in last two decades have washed away several hundreds and thousands acres of lands including washing away villages, schools, hospitals etc. A constructing of a mega flood protection bundh cum road over along the bank of River Siang would not only solve the yearly flood worries of the people out here, but also it would deter the possible river warfare threat of the Chinese on the other side of the border in the upper ridges of the Siang River in the Tibet where Siang river (Brahmaputra) is known as Tsangpo.

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