Villagers call off protest after DM assures flood protection work on Sharda embankment

Pilibhit: An indefinite dharna by residents at Nujalha Nakta village panchayat -- the last village of Pilibhit district on the India-Nepal border -- was called off on Sunday after district magistrate (DM) Gyanendra Singh and BJP MLA from Puranpur constituency, Babu Ram Paswan, assured them of flood protection work along the Sharda river embankment.The protest, which began on Friday, was aimed at drawing attention to the risk of severe floods during the monsoon season. Villagers raised concerns over a 180-metre-long damaged section of the embankment, which they fear could worsen flooding.In response, Singh has sent a letter to the chief secretary of UP govt on Saturday, requesting approval for the flood protection project. The DM visited the protest site and spoke with the principal secretary of irrigation over phone in the presence of protesters, assuring them that flood protection work would commence within a month.Village head Ramjeevan Sarkar said the 180-metre section of the embankment was washed away in 2024 due to heavy discharge from Banbasa barrage, which released 4.6 lakh cusecs of water into Sharda. This left residents of over a dozen villages vulnerable to severe flooding during the past two monsoon seasons.Sarkar also highlighted ongoing apron and slope pitching work on Sharda near the India-Nepal border, warning that it could divert floodwaters from the river and its Nepalese tributaries directly into Indian villages if the embankment is not repaired.Supporting the villagers' concerns, Ashutosh Kumar, executive engineer of the flood control division, confirmed that a Rs 9 crore project had been submitted to state govt last year but was rejected by flood control department's technical advisory committee (TAC) during a meeting in Lucknow on Dec 4, 2025 for unspecified reasons.Calling his discussion with state officials as "fruitful", Singh said, "They assured timely action in approving the project and allocating the requisite funds." However, villagers have warned that "they may resort to collective ‘Jal Samadhi' if officials fail to initiate flood protection work within the promised timeframe".