Agartala, July 13: Boxanagar MLA Tafajjal Hossain on Monday visited rain-affected areas under Boxanagar block in Tripura’s Sepahijala district and assured residents that relief and rehabilitation measures would be provided to families whose houses and property were damaged following heavy rainfall.
Accompanied by Boxanagar Block Panchayat Samiti Chairperson Swapna Nama, the MLA toured Beluarchar Uttarpara under Boxanagar block, one of the worst-affected localities after continuous rainfall since Sunday night led to severe waterlogging and flooding.
According to local residents, floodwaters entered nearly 20 to 25 houses in Ward No. 1 of Beluarchar Uttarpara, while around 13 houses sustained partial or extensive damage. The heavy rainfall also inundated numerous ponds, damaged standing vegetable crops and caused losses to livestock and household property.
Residents said around 21 to 22 fish ponds overflowed, resulting in the loss of fish, while vegetable fields were submerged, affecting the livelihoods of several farming families. They urged the administration to conduct an immediate assessment of the losses and extend financial assistance.
During his visit, MLA Tafajjal Hossain interacted with affected families to assess the extent of the damage. He assured them that the matter would be taken up with the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and the Boxanagar block administration to ensure prompt distribution of relief materials, food assistance and support for repairing or rebuilding damaged houses.
The MLA also arranged food for the affected families as an immediate relief measure, according to local residents.
Several villagers alleged that the flooding was aggravated by obstruction to the natural drainage system due to embankments created during pond excavation on private land. They claimed that such large-scale flooding had never occurred in the locality before and urged the authorities to restore the area’s natural drainage channels to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Residents further alleged that drainage was hampered after a sluice gate maintained by the Border Security Force (BSF) on the Hariganga River, located between Border Gates 179 and 180, became blocked with debris. The MLA visited the site and facilitated the clearing of the sluice gate, following which the accumulated floodwater began receding.
The affected villagers have demanded a comprehensive government survey to assess the damage and sought adequate compensation, financial assistance and rehabilitation support to help them recover from the losses caused by the heavy rains.
