All gates of Farakka barrage to be replaced in 5 yrs: Govt

He said in the Rajya Sabha that maintenance of the Farakka barrage would be stepped up.

"It is our plan that 33 most vulnerable gates will be replaced immediately for which tender has been floated...And all gates will be replaced in the next five years," he said.

Replying to discussion initiated by D Bandopadhyay (AITC) on 'water leakage in Farakka dam', Bansal said it would be government's endeavour to "ensure that such things does not recur".

The dam has been in news after two sluice gates were reported to have collapsed.

The issue was raised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee when she met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on February 22, demanding immediate repair of the two broken gates through which 80 per cent water was flowing to Bangladesh.

The Centre ordered an inquiry to ascertain the reasons for the breakage of the two gates and the delay in repairs.

Bansal refuted suggestions of any ulterior motive behind the incident, saying there was "no question of anyone colluding with anyone. If you have any suspicion, please remove it from your mind".

He said repair work of the gates were taken up right from the day of the breakage but there was delay owing to several factors including resistance from trade unions there holding conflicting interests.

"The work is complex and humongous in nature" given the size of the barrage, he said. (MORE)