Did crocodiles breach the Bhagalpur canal wall? asks Lalu
Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav also slammed the state government for the breach in the canal.
Taking jibes at the Bihar water resources minister for blaming flash floods in the state on rats, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday sought to know if the Batehswar Ganga Pump Nahar Yojana (BGPNY) wall in Bhagalpur was breached by crocodiles.
“If rats had breached dams causing floods, it were probably crocodiles that caused damage to the BGPNY canal wall,” Prasad said taking a potshot at the state government. “The government is totally responsible for the breach,” Prasad said.
During the flash floods in 21 districts of the state, water resources minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh had courted controversy by saying holes caused by rats in the dams were the reason for seepage of water following torrential rains. The RJD had called the minister’s remarks as a “lame excuse” to hide the government’s failure.
Prasad alleged that the canal in Kahalgaon subdivision of Bhagalpur was constructed with inferior material, leading to its wall collapse just a day before chief minister Nitish Kumar was supposed to inaugurate it.
“The CM has cancelled his visit to Bhagalpur. But who will be responsible for the wastage of public money spent on the construction of the sub-standard canal?” Prasad asked. He demanded inquiry into the wall collapse and insisted that strict action should be taken against those responsible for the breach.
The RJD chief also dared Kumar to initiate action against the water resources minister for the damage to the structure of the canal, while expressing that it was unlikely the Singh would be hauled up for the lapse.
Meanwhile, rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav also slammed the state government for the breach in the canal, stating that it was a classic example of how public money was wasted in a project due to lapses by state officials.
“Who is responsible for the waste of public money in the project. There should be an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the breach,” he said.
JD(U) spokespersons, however, slammed the RJD for holding the state government responsible for the breach in the canal. “The canal structure was constructed in 1996 when the RJD was in power. The government had ordered flow of water on Tuesday from the canal just for trial,” he said.
BJP’s Vinod Narayan Jha also attacked the RJD for alleging the dam was made with sub-standard quality saying that the party leaders had no right to talk about corruption when its president was facing corruption charges and had been convicted in one fodder scam case. “The maximum work of the canal was completed during RJD rule in 1990s,” he said.
QUOTE
The CM has cancelled his visit to Bhagalpur. But who will be responsible for the wastage of public money spent on the construction of the sub-standard canal?
Lalu Prasad, RJD chief
