CABANATUAN CITY (PIA) -- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has formally started the desilting of Dupinga River in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija.
 
DPWH Bureau of Equipment (BOE) Nueva Ecija Area Equipment Section Equipment Engineer Edwin Lopez explained that the river currently holds less water because river beds are already silted. 
 
This is primarily due to landslides from recent typhoons that have caused sedimentation in the low-lying areas of Gabaldon, particularly areas along river courses.
 
Dupinga River, which is a tourist attraction in Nueva Ecija, is a tributary of Coronel River. Its water is drained into the greater Pampanga River Basin.
 
"Our goal for this project is to restore the natural flow speed of the river by attaining its required depth, and align it with the correct channel design so that during the typhoon season, the excess water that often causes flooding in Gabaldon and nearby towns does not overflow,” BOE Director Toribio Noel Ilao said.
 
DPWH has positioned one unit each of wheel backhoe, crawler-type backhoe, vibratory roller and dump truck as well as two Bulldozers to be used in the said project.
 
The agency targets to dredge approximately 15,000 cubic meters of sediments and silt materials per month. (CLJD-PIA 3)