Kolkata team assesses damage on Atreyee Dam to draft repair strategy

BALURGHAT: A two-member team of Central Design officers from Kolkata visited the site on Monday afternoon to assess the damage on a section of the dam on the Atreyee River that had collapsed.

They held discussions with the district Irrigation department officials and reviewed the dam’s structural plans. The team will be drafting a repair strategy. The Atreyee River Dam was constructed just a year ago. The project aimed to retain water in the river during the dry season as Bangladesh’s rubber dam had restricted water flow to Balurghat and surrounding areas. This severely impacted local farmers and fishermen, prompting the state government to intervene in the dam’s construction. Now, however, questions have arisen about how a portion of the dam collapsed within a year. The breach occurred suddenly on Sunday night and authorities have since attempted to control the water flow using sandbags. Despite continuous efforts by the South Dinajpur district Irrigation department, the water’s movement has not yet been fully controlled, causing growing concerns.

Deputy Director of the Central Design Office, Pinaki Chatterjee, addressed the media, clarifying: “The main structure of the Atreyee River Dam remains intact. The damage has occurred on the side due to the force of the water. We are discussing repair measures with the district irrigation engineers.”

Mritunjay Kumar, Executive Engineer of the district Irrigation department, added: “Discussions with Central design officials have been held and the damaged section will be repaired soon. For now, we are using sandbags to manage the situation.” The district administration has assured residents that repair work will commence without delay to restore normalcy.