The Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation chairman and Khanpur MlA, Kunwar Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ has blamed Union Minister for Water Resources Harish Rawat for the damage wreaked by floods in Haridwar region.
He said that the Minister had remained apathetic to important flood control works which would have prevented the damage. Stating that he is not satisfied with the Central and State Governments regarding the relief measures, Singh said that some Congress leaders are also trying to play politics at a time when the focus should be on providing relief to the disaster-affected.
Addressing the media, he said that on March 15, he had written to Rawat seeking swift allocation of funds for construction of three flood control works in Haridwar district which had been approved by the Ganga Flood Control Commission-Patna. These works include strengthening of the dam on Solani river, strengthening the protection wall along Ban Ganga river and strengthening of protection wall along the right bank of the Ganga.
The State Government had fulfilled the formalities and forwarded the proposal to the Ministry of Water Resources. “The Minister ignored my request. Had the works been executed before the monsoon, major damage especially to farmers could have been prevented in the laksar-Khanpur area where the Ganga flowed beyond its banks for four days and deposited up to four feet of sand and silt on farms destroying sugar cane crop. The compensation for affected sugar cane farmers is Rs 1,000 per bigha but I have demanded that this be increased to Rs 8,000 per bigha,” he said.
Singh further lambasted Rawat stating that the Minister was shedding crocodile tears for the disaster-affected after failing to take action which would have mitigated the damage. Some Congress members are also trying to exploit the situation for political gains, he added.
Pointing at unplanned development, he also stressed on the need to differentiate between tourism and pilgrimage while adding that the Government should fix State-wise quota for pilgrims undertaking the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand.