Puri: A breach of approximately 20 feet has occurred in the embankment of the Nuagaon Distributary Canal at Suninda located within Puri's Balanga Water Resources Division, flooding farmlands of around 30 acres.

The breach incident took place on Thursday night, catching the villagers residing in Gadachandanpur off-guard as the water from the canal gushed into their village.

Residents in the area are expressing growing concern as the breach continues to widen with each passing hour. They fear that if immediate action is not taken to seal the breach, more farmlands will be submerged under water.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred at this particular location. Previous instances of breaches have been reported in the same spot, and the problem seems to persist due to inadequate repair work carried out in the past, the locals alleged.

The matter has been brought to the attention of the Irrigation Department, and the concerned authorities were reportedly mobilizing resources to initiate repair work promptly. Plans were being made to use sand packs as an immediate measure to control the water flow and provide relief to the affected areas.

Baikunthanath Dalai, concerned Executive Engineer, reassured the residents that restoration work has already commenced. The canal, which was originally constructed over a sandy bed, experienced the unfortunate breach the previous night. Efforts are underway to halt the water flow at the head reach to prevent further inundation of farmland. The restoration work is expected to be completed by the evening, according to Dalai.