Khaira: Farmers bore the brunt of erratic rainfall this monsoon at Mahatipur panchayat under Khaira block of Balasore even though a check dam built at a cost of Rs 19 lakh failed to come to their rescue.
According to reports, local farmers alleged that a contractor who was assigned to build the check dam at Phaguna School has confined his work only to a few concrete slabs and got his bills paid.
“Hence, Rs 19 lakh has gone down the drains, as the project is of no use to us,” the farmers have fumed.
They also pointed out that whatever work has been done was messed up, because part of the structure is falling off.
The dam has been built by the drainage division and its quality has been compromised.
The villagers said construction of the dam was taken up late. “We had wanted the contractor to carry out work properly, but he hardly paid any attention to us. The result was that the project was incomplete and botched up,” they fumed.
Pointing out that the government has been attaching importance to transparency in all the sectors, the farmers said transparency was thrown to the winds by the contractor in the check dam case.
They demanded a thorough probe into the irregularities in the project. They warned of agitation if no steps are taken to look into their allegations.
Subash Sa, an engineer of the drainage division, said only filling work of the project has to be done.
“The project will be completed after water recedes in the area,” he added.
He, however, denied the allegation that the contractor was paid all his dues for the project.