Team Herald
PONDA: For the sixth consecutive year, farmers in Dharjowada, Kundaim, have been unable to cultivate their khazan paddy fields due to breaches in a centuries-old, one-km-long bandhara along the riverside.
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Despite a government-sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore tender for its repair in 2022, substandard work by the contractor has resulted in persistent leakages, leaving the fields inundated with salt water during high tide. Around 250 farmers have been affected.
Vijesh Vinayak Naik, Chairman of the Chikalpaine Khazan Tenant Association, highlighted the issue in a letter to the Ponda Mamlatdar. He alleged that the contractor abandoned the project halfway, leaving it incomplete, with leakages persisting across 200 metres of the bandhara.
Despite repeated complaints to the Agriculture Department and inspections by Soil Conservation Department engineers, the problem remains unresolved, he said.
“The contractor failed to follow instructions to address the leakages, making it impossible for us to cultivate these khazans. Saline water floods the fields within two hours during high tide, devastating prospects for agriculture,” Naik said.
Naik criticised the misuse of taxpayer money, stating that despite the government allocating funds to rehabilitate the bandhara, the negligence has wasted public resources and prolonged the hardships of farmers.
According to an RTI response, the Agriculture Department claims the work is incomplete, while the contractor asserts otherwise. Farmers have demanded strict action against the contractor, including blacklisting him and recovering the losses they have suffered.
Farmers have also raised the matter with the Chief Minister’s office, seeking immediate intervention to ensure the bandhara is repaired and their livelihoods are restored.
