To protect the villages along with the Satluj river from the fury of floods and to ensure uninterrupted flow of river water, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday directed the State Irrigation Department and the mining wing of the Industries Department to ensure the cleaning of the river and strengthening of its banks.
Badal, presiding over a high-level meeting with the lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra and senior officers of Mining and Irrigation departments, asked the concerned officers to remove silt and sand from the river bed in a planned and efficient manner, as it was creating hindrance in the smooth flow of water.
He also directed the officers of Irrigation Department to formulate the comprehensive plan for cleaning of river and strengthening its banks in next three days positively so that cleaning drive and channelisation of banks could be commenced at the earliest.
Emphasising to tackle the problem of floods and to ensure smooth flow of river water, the Chief Minister asked the officers to execute this project under their direct supervision in a result-oriented manner.
He also stressed the need for close coordination between the Irrigation and Mining Wing of the Industries Department to undertake this task in a cohesive manner so that the people residing in the villages of Rupnagar district could be saved from the menace of floods.
Regarding the proposal to dig out the sand from the river in first phase and then initiate the work of strengthening the banks of river, Badal emphasized to take the entire work simultaneously so it could be completed well before the next rainy season.
Badal, in his last meeting with the Prime Minister and Union Water Resources Minister, had sought their personal intervention for early clearance of various irrigation projects stuck up at different stages worth `4,418 crore including extension, renovation and modernization of canal fed by Satluj river, rehabilitation of UBDC system and re-lining of Rajasthan and Sirhind feeders.
Badal had also requested to immediately sanction and release special funds amounting to `918 crore for extension, renovation and modernisation of canals from the Satluj river.