Water started leaking from a small hole in the embankment of the Dwarakeshwar river in Khanakul, Hooghly, quickly eroding a 200-metre stretch of the earthen structure within just a few hours.

A local villager noted that the numerous rodents living in these holes contribute to the weakening of the embankments.

“The floodwater started leaking through the holes. Since the floods were severe this time, it took only a few hours for a large chunk of the embankment to be washed away,” said Santu Samanta, a farmer from Talit village, who lost his home in the
recent flood.

“Usually, we notice such holes or burrows and report them to the local panchayat. We couldn’t spot it in time as a large stretch was covered with bushes,” he added.

An embankment of river Dwarakeshwar in Arambagh.

The “holes” the young farmer from Khanakul’s Talit village referred to are burrows made by rodents and foxes, posing a serious threat to the over 3,000km of earthen embankments across the state.

Such burrows typically don’t cause much damage if the water pressure is low. “This time, the DVC released significantly more water than usual. As a result, the burrows became a major threat in several areas,” said an irrigation department official.

Every year before monsoon, the irrigation department surveys to identify and fill these animal shelters to avoid leakage of floodwater. However, information about these holes comes from local villagers living near the embankments.

A senior official from the irrigation department explained that despite conducting a thorough survey to locate rat and fox burrows along the earthen embankments separating villages from rivers, many were missed because of embankments with overgrown bushes.

Previously, the local panchayats cleared these bushes using funds from the MGNREGA scheme. However, since the central government halted MGNREGA allocations to Bengal in December 2021, this crucial work has not been done properly.

According to sources, breaches occurred at 35 small points and four major points along 350km of embankments on the Dwarakeshwar, Rupnarayan and
Mundeshwari rivers.

State irrigation minister Manas Bhuniya acknowledged that the absence of MGNREGA funds had significantly impacted the maintenance of river embankments over the past three years.

“Our engineers regularly monitor these holes and burrows created by animals like rodents and foxes. The lack of MGNREGA funds has indeed made it more difficult to clear the embankments of bushes,” Bhuniya said.

“However, the major damage was caused by the large amount of water released by the DVC. If the central body had limited the discharge, these holes and burrows would have had less impact,” the minister added.

A forest official noted that foxes and rats typically build their homes in earthen embankments because the locations help them have easy access to food. However, during the monsoon, they leave their burrows and seek shelter in the bushes.

Local gram panchayat functionaries claimed that when MGNREGA funds were available, they cleared the bushes and repaired small holes and burrows on the embankments.

“We used to engage local villagers in this work. They actively searched for and repaired these holes because it was in their best interest. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to continue this work because of the lack of funds over the past three years,” said Satyajit Chakraborty, deputy chief of Salepur-I gram panchayat in Hooghly’s
Arambagh.

Devendra Singh, an executive engineer of the irrigation department responsible for around 400km of embankments in East Burdwan and Hooghly, said his department was working to repair the burrows.

“Our workers are dedicated to identifying and repairing these burrows as soon as they’re found. Any unattended burrows will be addressed promptly,” Singh assured.

While the state government blames the DVC for the floods, the BJP has accused the irrigation department of failing to repair and maintain the embankments properly.

Local BJP leaders in Hooghly have submitted a deputation to the district administration, requesting the overgrown bushes on the embankments be cleared.

“It was the irrigation department’s responsibility to take all necessary steps to repair the damaged embankments, which they failed to do,” said a BJP leader in Hooghly.