Cachar farmers say Bharatmala road embankment collapse ruined 100 bighas

Farmers in Assam's Cachar district say close to 100 bighas of farmland have been damaged after an earthen embankment built during Bharatmala road construction collapsed, sending rainwater, soil and rocks across their paddy fields.

The damage was reported from Labakpar Part III and Part IV under Poylapool Gaon Panchayat in the Lakhipur Assembly constituency, India Today NE reported on Sunday, November 1. The area lies along the Silchar-Jirighat road, which is being built under the Centre's Bharatmala highway programme towards the Manipur border.

What the farmers say happened

According to the affected families, low-lying land beside the alignment was filled with soil cut from nearby hills as part of the road work. They say they repeatedly asked the construction contractor to put in culverts so that rainwater could drain away, but that the requests were not acted upon.

With no proper outlet, water built up behind the earthen fill until the embankment gave way, the farmers said. The rush of water, mud and stones then spread across neighbouring fields, flattening paddy saplings over a wide stretch and damaging other vegetation nearby.

Several of the farmers told the channel that they had borrowed money to raise this season's crop and are now under financial strain. These accounts are the farmers' own; the contractor and the highway agency have not publicly responded, and NEInsider could not independently verify the extent of the damage.

No compensation yet, they say

The farmers said they had taken the matter to the Lakhipur co-district administration and the Agriculture Department but had not received any compensation so far.

They have now appealed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Agriculture Minister Pijush Hazarika and Lakhipur MLA and minister Kaushik Rai to intervene. Their demands are a field visit by officials, a proper assessment of crop and land losses, and timely, adequate compensation for every affected family.

Drainage the bigger worry

Beyond this season's losses, the farmers want the drainage problem fixed while construction continues, so that more fields along the alignment are not hit by the next spell of heavy rain.

NEInsider will update this report if the district administration, the Agriculture Department or the project authorities respond.