Petlawad (Madhya Pradesh): Important positions have been vacant in Water Resource Department for a couple of years and as a result it has affected irrigation related works and civic concerns in the Petlawad town of Jhabua district.
The posts of at least four deputy engineers are vacant for over two years now and are being managed by officials from other departments.
At present, SDO Devendra Dabar and Mahi Project in-charge JS Bista are looking after the maintenance, repair and revenue related works of at least 88 irrigation ponds, including 3 barrages and 25 ponds, which provide irrigation water across Petlawad Tehsil. As a result, irrigation related works of the tehsil are getting affected, adding to hardships of local cultivators. Local cultivators have also complained about miscreants illegally laying pipes to get water from their canals.
“We are regularly requesting the government to fill up the vacant posts, but to no avail. Vacancies are dealt with on the government-level”, said Neelam Maida, an executive engineer of Water Resources, Jhabua.
Commenting on issues, Devendra Dabur, SDO Water Resources Division, Petlawad, said that several demands for appointment of deputy engineers were made multiple times, but no one paid attention to the prevailing situations.
