Bhopal Halali Dam Havoc: ETV Bharat Ground Report from Berasia

40 kms from Bhopal is a village named Berasia, which has been facing massive floods, damaging thousands of acres of cultivated land. This is not the first time the village is facing losses due to floods. Apparently, the same condition prevailed in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2016.

Bhopal: Backwaters from Halali Dam in Berasia Tehsil, just 40 km from Bhopal, wreaks havoc in around 60 villages here. The paddy crops spread across thousands of acres has been ruined, but till now the administration has not come for a survey. In 2017 floods, the villagers were compensated, but after that they have been left on their own.

The villagers said that if the government fails to take any concrete step this time, they will be forced to take 'jal samadhi'. More than 50 villages were inundated in floods resulting from torrential rains. Although the villagers were facing the issue of floods since 2009, this time the backwaters of the dam has not just ruined their sown lands but has also reached their homes, destroying even the yielded crops kept in stock for sale.

An elderly local villager named Mahesh Bhargava of Bhainskheda village has been witnessing this devastation for the past several years. Commenting on the current situation, he said, "This is not new. Every two to four years we face massive floods. Crops worth 2 lakhs have been damaged, but the government has still not intervened."