Planning and Sports Minister and Dharmpur MlA Dinesh Aggarwal said on Saturday that encroachment on riverbanks is a matter for serious concern. The district administration and Municipal Corporation of Dehradun should look into this matter and take necessary action, he said while inspecting areas of his constituency.
After inspecting Brahmanwala, lohianagar, Brahmpuri, Niranjanpur, Kabadi Bazaar and other areas in the constituency, Aggarwal directed the Irrigation Department engineer to construct security wall for protection from flood in the Bindal river. The Minister said that people encroaching on the Bindal riverbanks was a cause for serious concern. He said that some people settling along the riverbanks will face threat to their life and property during the rainy season. “The MCD and district administration should take cognisance of this. It is their responsibility to act against such encroachments so that no one faces risk to life and property during the rainy season,” he said.
Aggarwal called District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam on phone and directed him to facilitate an inspection by a joint team of the district administration and MCD after which the authorities should also ensure the immediate removal of encroachments from the riverbanks and riverbed. He directed the Irrigation Department, executive engineer (flood division) PS Panwar to ensure immediate construction of safety walls on the banks of Rispana and Bindal where the walls had been damaged. A sum of Rs 1.08 crore had been approved for flood protection works in these areas.