Build dam on Ujh river to prevent floods: Dhaliwal
The issue of recurring floods in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts due to the rising water level in the Ujh river was raised in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday, with Ajnala MLA and Aam Aadmi Party state chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal urging the Central Government to construct a dam on the river in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Raising the issue during the ongoing Assembly session, Dhaliwal urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to take up the matter with the Central Government and press for the construction of a dam on the lines of the Ranjit Sagar Dam.
Dhaliwal said the proposed dam could help regulate the flow of the Ujh river and ensure better utilisation of its water for irrigation and domestic purposes. He said the Centre had been making claims and giving assurances about constructing a dam on the river for the past 12 years, but no concrete progress had been made.
He said heavy rainfall, landslides and cloudbursts in Jammu and Kashmir can cause the river to swell suddenly. The floodwaters then enter the Ravi river with great force, increasing the flood threat in Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts, particularly in the Ajnala area.
Dhaliwal said the Ujh river has become a major cause of recurring floods in the Ajnala region during the monsoon. The floods have caused extensive damage to crops, livestock, infrastructure and human lives.
He said that following the flooding of the Ravi last year, breaches occurred at 23 locations along its embankment in the Ajnala area, affecting 198 villages. He claimed that 10 people lost their lives, 59,793 acres of crops were completely destroyed and 307 animals were killed in the floods.
Dhaliwal recalled that when Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Ajnala to assess the flood damage, he had submitted a memorandum seeking a Rs 2,000-crore financial package for the affected people.
He said the Centre had yet to take concrete action on the demand and urged the government to take effective steps to prevent recurring flood devastation in the border areas of Punjab.
