For the first time in its history, engineering and infrastructure behemoth L&T has partnered with the West Bengal government to manage floods. L&T has previously collaborated with various state governments to establish geo-infrastructure, but this would be the company's first collaboration.
In West Bengal's lower Damodar sub-basin, roughly corresponding to the Hooghly and Howrah districts, the proposed project includes an integrated flood management plan, including safeguards against water ingress into human habitation and cultivated areas.ith a state for flood control.
L&T has pointed out that the project was necessary because the lower Damodar sub-basin, which adjoins the two branches of the main Damodar — the Mundeswari River and Lower Damodar (Amta) Channel — spans 1.8
lakh hectares (1,887 square kilometres) and has historically been a flood-prone zone. According to the infrastructure behemoth, floods annually inundate approximately 4.6 lakh people and 335 square kilometres (0.335 lakh hectares) of cropped land. This area encompasses two municipalities as well as twenty administrative development blocks.
The comprehensive plan of the state irrigation and waterways department includes the construction of flood walls, river embankment armouring, and the desilting of the Mundeswari river and 41 other canals.
The state government will bear 30% of the project's cost, while the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank will co-finance it (AIIB). The project is expected to be finished by July 2022. One Of the three components of the proposed project, L&T Geostructure would carry out flood management work under four contract packages accounting for a total stretch of 122.5 km. This aims to alleviate annual flooding.
An L&T spokesperson said , "Flooding has been a significant problem in and around the lower Damodar sub-basin for years, causing harm to people and crops." The West Bengal government is convinced that the problem must be addressed immediately and is implementing a variety of measures to address flooding-related issues. L&T's Geostructure has been awarded the flood management contract in four contract packages. With our efforts and expertise, we are committed to completing this component of the project on time and in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner."