The wall of the Ganga pump canal project collapsed after it could not withstand the pressure of water released into it by five water pumps. (Source: Express Photo) The wall of the Ganga pump canal project collapsed after it could not withstand the pressure of water released into it by five water pumps. (Source: Express Photo)

The embankment of the Ganga pump canal project in Bhagalpur was breached a day ahead of its launch on Wednesday as it could not withstand the pressure of water released by five motor pumps. The project was going to see the light of the day after 40 years of its inauguration but the incident forced Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to cancel the opening.

The Water Resources Department has ordered a probe into the “poor quality embankment work” at the 60-km canal, that originates from the Ganga at Kahalgaon and is meant to irrigate 21,700 hectares in Bihar and 4,000 hectares in Jharkhand.

The Rs 389 crore Bateshwar Sthan Pump Canal Project, commissioned in 1977 initially at a cost of Rs 13.88 crore, has been a story of neglect by successive governments. The project cost was revised several times. It was finally set for an opening with the government deciding to install 12 high-capacity pumps to get water from the Ganga into the canal. If the 12 pumps function simultaneously, 260 cusecs of water can be released per second into the canal.

“We started five pumps on Tuesday afternoon to fill the canal as the CM was to open it on Wednesday. But one side of the embankment towards NTPC colony could not take the pressure of the sudden water flow into the canal and was breached, causing waterlogging in adjoining areas,” an official said.

He said, “The Water Resources Department has ordered an inquiry into the matter. It is a collective responsibility.” Sandbags are being placed at the point the canal was breached. Inspection by engineers had revealed several gaps in the embankment on either side but their efforts to plug the holes did not yield results, sources said.

Opposition leaders attacked the government. RJD chief Lalu Prasad said, “If embankments of rivers are eaten by rats, was the Kahalgaon canal embankment swallowed by crocodiles?”

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