DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government has completed the cleaning of the state's drainage systems and strengthened embankments to tackle any kind of flood-like situation, stated Punjab Water Resources Minister Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal while addressing media persons here at Punjab Bhawan today.

After reviewing the arrangements made by the Water Resources Department to deal with any potential floods during the high level meeting, Sh. Goyal informed the journalists that the state government has completed 1220 projects worth Rs.276 crore to tackle potential flood situations. These projects include river revetment work, installation of studs, strengthening operations and desilting/cleaning of drains. He said that additionally, 600 check dams have been constructed with 1104 and more check dams under construction. Besides this, 3905 soak pits are being created, over 53,400 bamboo saplings have been planted and 226 kilometers of vetiver grass has been cultivated.

The Cabinet Minister informed that out of the 850 drains, 601 drains required cleaning this year, which has been completed. He said that so far, 4766 kilometers of drains have been cleaned.

Goyal said that the department has completed drain desilting/cleaning work using departmental machinery, resulting in 65% cost savings compared to contractor work. He mentioned that the department currently possesses 15 machines, with 3 additional machines soon to be added to the departmental fleet.

The Water Resources Minister stated that departmental machinery is currently conducting desilting/cleaning operations at 110 locations across Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot, Fazilka, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ropar and Sri Anandpur Sahib.

He said that locations where embankments had breached during previous years have been specially reinforced and sand bags have been strategically placed at 94 vulnerable locations across the state as a precautionary measure. He informed that Water Resources Department officials have been instructed to maintain continuous monitoring in their respective areas and submit daily reports to headquarters while ensuring they do not leave their headquarters.

The Water Resources Minister also directed officials of Local Government and Rural Development Departments and Deputy Commissioners to ensure cleaning of drains and channels passing through their jurisdictions and maintain continuous surveillance.

He informed that the department has implemented several strategic measures to handle emergency situations, including the procurement of 8.76 lakh sand bags strategically positioned at vulnerable locations. Of these, 3.24 lakh bags have been filled and kept ready. He stated that for rapid response during emergencies, the locations of sand bags have been uploaded onto the Geographic Information System (GIS). He mentioned that for the first time, the department has purchased 10,300 jumbo bags to enable quick breach filling. Providing information about water levels in dams, the Cabinet Minister said that all major dams are within safe limits with no cause for concern. He said that Bhakra Dam currently stands at 1618.38 feet, which corresponds to the average requirement of the past 20 years.

(editor@dailyworld.in)