Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker and Sri Anandpur Sahib MLA Rana Kanwar Pal Singh and Congress’ MP from Sri Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari on Sunday took stock of the situation in the Bakhra dam in view of the monsoon season with the senior members of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
Rana and Tewari had a detailed meeting with the officials of the BBMB including Member (Irrigation) Gulab Singh Narwal, Chief Engineer (Generation) Balbir Singh. A powerpoint presentation was also given on the prevailing water situation in the dam and about the electricity generation.
Speaking on the occasion, Tewari appreciated the round-the-clock efforts put in by the BBMB officials, right from the top management up to the ground level workers in ensuring the adequate supply of water to large parts of the State.
He recalled as how the first Prime Minister of the “independent” India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had envisioned the setting up of big dams across the country and how Punjab was one of his top most priorities.
“I wonder whether Punjab would have been really like this what it is today, if Pandit Nehru had not the vision of setting up the Bakhra dam here,” he said adding that given the declining water table and other water resources, water preservation and conservation was going to be a more challenging task and the BBMB was going to have added responsibility.
Later Rana and Tewari conducted a visit of the surrounding areas and spoke with other officials. They expressed satisfaction over the situation and appreciated the work being done by the officials.