Pb CM holds Akalis responsible for Ghaggar river breach
Sangrur/Patiala: Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Tuesday that since "Punjab's division by the Akalis", the state lost control over the maintenance of Ghaggar river's embankments, a breach in which damaged crops and other assets in Sangrur and Patiala districts.
He also alleged that the Akalis had even stopped the river's embankment reinforcement works undertaken by him in his previous term.
Singh said the river is "under the control of the Central Water Commission (CWC)" and he will meet Central ministers and officials to press for reinforcement of its embankments.
"The division of Punjab by the Akalis in 1966 had led to state's Ghaggar river going into the hands of the CWC, causing the state to lose control over the critical maintenance of its embankments," he said here.
The Congress government, during its previous term, had completed 22-km embankment reinforcement, after which all work was suspended by the SAD-BJP government, he claimed.
Calling upon Haryana to join hands to resolve the issue, Singh said the dams on the Ghaggar river in the two states need to be reinforced and made motorable wherever possible, to avoid floods in the future.
Claiming that Punjab had submitted before the CWC its proposal for taming the Ghaggar river six years ago, the chief minister said the CWC in March 2019, had ordered a feasibility study by an independent agency.
He was addressing farmers at Moonak in Sangrur district and Badshahpur in Patiala district after conducting an ariel survey of the damage caused due to flooding in the area.
The chief minister said about 50,000 acres of the crop has been lost in Patiala and another 10,000 acres in Sangrur due to the breach in Ghaggar river embankment.
A special revenue assessment of crop damage is underway and would be completed as soon as the water recedes, Singh said and promised adequate compensation for the losses.
In Bhatinda, the water of the Ghaggar river is flowing at a very high level after the district received the highest rainfall in 40 years, he said.
Later, Singh said that he was saddened by the damage of crops in villages of Patiala, which he has been visiting since childhood. Fortunately, there was no loss of human life or cattle, he said.
The chief minister also announced Rs 60 lakhs for rebuilding a damaged bridge in Sirkapda village of Ghanaur.
He said flooding in these areas usually takes place in September, but with the weather patterns changing, it is increasingly becoming difficult to make any predictions.
