Power to impress labour in emergency

(1) Whenever it appears to the Irrigation Officer or any officer acting under his general or special orders in this behalf, that, unless some work is immediately executed, such serious damage shall happen or continued to happen to any irrigation work as is likely to cause or continue to cause serious public injury or serious interruption of the normal course of irrigation and that the labour necessary for the proper execution thereof cannot be obtained in the ordinary manner in time to prevent such injury or interruption or to remedy it within a reasonable time, the Irrigation Officer or any officer acting under the said orders, may, by public Proclamation by beat of drum, require every owner and occupier of irrigable land resident in any village within five miles of the place where the work is to be executed, and every agricultural labourer employed by them, to attend in person at such place to carry out such duties as he may allot to them in connection with the execution of the work necessary for the safety of the particular irrigation work. (2) If the Irrigation Officer, or any officer acting under his orders is of opinion that the amount of labour likely to attend in pursuance of an order under Sub-section (1) is not sufficient, he may at any time, in like manner and subject to the same conditions as laid down in Sub-section (1) issue a like order requiring the attendance of all cultivators or of all agricultural labourers or of both resident within five miles of the place where the work is to be executed. (3) The rates of wages to be paid for such work shall be at the approved rates of the Works Department for labour or services performed during day time and at double such rates for any labour or services performed during night time, and any person attendinging compliance with the proclamation shall be paid for the whole period during which he is thereby prevented from following his ordinary avocation. (4) No person shall be required to carry out any duties under this section for which such persons unfitted by reason of age, sex, health or bodily infirmity.