Under attack for his absence in his flood-hit constituency, Congress’ MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu on Friday met the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to find a permanent solution to the problems related to around 14-kilometer stretch of Budha Nullah — a polluted stream.
Seeking the Central Government’s cooperation for the project, Bittu said that the cleaning of Budha Nullah is one of his dream projects and he has also made this promise with the people of Ludhiana.
He said that this was his second meeting with the Union Minister in the last three months time. Earlier on July 27, Bittu along with Punjab Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had held a meeting with the Union Minister.
“Budha Nullah, earlier known as Budha Dariya, is an old tributary of river Satluj and once had more than 50 species of fish but unfortunately it started losing its glory with the passage of time,” said Bittu.
“The Union Minister was apprised about the recent development related to overflowing of
Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana, which caused problems for the residents,” said Bittu while also apprising Shekhawat about the current situation of the Dhussi Bandh of Sutlej river along the Ludhiana district.
Bittu requested the Union Minister to ensure that this project is handled on a priority basis as a proper plan needs to be worked out for implementation.
“Union Minister has assured full cooperation and has offered maximum funds for this project. The Union Minister would be himself visiting the Budha Nullah in the first week of September along with a team of experts from Tata Sons, who have shown interest in Rs 900 crore project related to cleaning of Budha Nullah,” he said.
The same company has cleaned a similar Nullah falling in the constituency of the Union Minister, he said.
Notably, on February 21, a team of senior officials from Tata Group had shown interest in the cleaning and beautification of Budha Nullah and even gave a presentation in MC Zone D office, here, in this regard. The presentation was given in the presence of Ludhiana MP, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu, Senior Deputy Mayor Shyam Sunder Malhotra, MC Commissioner Kanwal Preet Kaur Brar, aming others.
During the hour-long presentation, Tata Group vice president Manish Tripathi had stated that their company has been associated with several such projects including rejuvenation of Dravyavati River in Jaipur, besides upcoming project for cleaning and beautification of Badi Nadi and Chhoti Nadi in Patiala.
The company officials claimed that they would not only ensure cleaning of the Budha Nullah, besides construction of embankments, construction of paths for cyclists and morning or evening walkers, beautification, tree plantation, developing green belts or parks along the Budha Nullah and re-use of the water for agriculture and horticulture purposes.