Jabalpur canal breach 4 months after viral seepage video; no casualties

A breach in the right bank canal of Bargi dam, the first reservoir built downstream of the Narmada river, has flooded nearby agricultural fields in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur district, officials said. The breach occurred on Sunday, four months after the government declared Bargi Dam completely safe following a viral video that purportedly showed seepage and sparked safety concerns.

A breach in the right bank canal of Bargi dam, the first reservoir built downstream of the Narmada river, has flooded nearby agricultural fields in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district, officials said. There were no casualties, they said. The breach occurred on Sunday, four months after the government declared Bargi Dam ''completely safe'' following a viral video that purportedly showed seepage and sparked safety concerns. The damage to the embankment near Sagda-Jhapni village triggered panic in the affected area as water gushed into farmlands. The district administration stopped the discharge of water through the right bank canal by shutting its sluice gates as a precautionary measure, officials said. Local farmers and villagers claimed the canal has been in poor condition for a long time. They alleged that officials ignored their repeated complaints on the issue, which eventually led to the breach. The breach, which occurred around 2 to 2.30 pm on Sunday, has not caused any loss of human life, Jabalpur Collector Raghvendra Singh told PTI over the phone. ''Water will drain out of the fields in about two hours. An immediate survey of crop loss has been ordered. The damage is minimal. The repair work on the canal is underway on a war footing,'' he informed. The canal is very old and an estimate involving major repair work was sent to the government for sanction about two months back, the collector added. The canal runs up to the Rewa district in the state's Vindhya region. Revenue officials, the executive engineer of the right bank canal as well as administrative and technical teams were present at the site to monitor the situation. Rani Avanti Bai Sagar Pariyojana, commonly known as the Bargi project, is about 32 km from the district headquarters and is a major dam in Madhya Pradesh. On September 7 last year, a video purportedly showing seepage from the Bargi Dam went viral on social media, raising concerns over its safety. The Madhya Pradesh government later said the dam was found to be ''completely safe'' after an inspection by a team of experts following the viral video. At the time, MP Water Resources Department Additional Chief Secretary Dr Rajesh Rajora told PTI the dam was inspected by a team from the Central Water Commission from Bhopal and the Bureau of Designs. After the technical examination, the dam was found to be completely safe, Rajora had said.

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