Monsoon checks in, P’kula yet to finish projects to contain floods

Bipin Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 11

The monsoon has set in, six projects launched by the district administration to control floods, for construction of new bandhs and strengthening of the old ones in flood-prone areas along Ghaggar and its tributaries are not completed yet.

The works taken up in villages along Tangri river, however, were completed a few days ago.

The district administration had allocated works of Rs 71.52 lakh in Rattewali, Mogi Nand, Rajjipur, Bhairon Ki Sair, Ambwala and Burj Kotian villages along the river and their tributaries taking preventive measures against the flood fury.

While works at three sites - Mogi Nand, Bhairon Ki Sair, and Burj Kotian – has been completed, the irrigation department is still trying to finish the works at other sites. The Rs 12.78-lakh project for construction of a 688-ft single-tier steining for the protection to residents of Ambwala village from a Ghaggar tributary, Kotian Wali, is running behind the schedule.

The seasonal rivulet had caused destruction here during rainy seasons earlier, sources said.

To check destruction due to floods in Tangri river, the administration has started constructing 488-ft double-tier steining at a cost of Rs 24.39 lakh in Rattewali village where acres of land were washed away in 2014.

Construction of a 104-ft double-tier steining and a 448-ft single-tier steining to protect land and an aganwadi school in Rajipur village from Jhajjra, another tributary of Ghaggar, is going on war footing. The department has sanctioned Rs 13.13 lakh for the project.

Talking to The Tribune, Deputy Commissioner Vivek Attary said efforts were being made to complete all the works at the earliest.

He said a 60-ft steining on the second layer and 312-ft single-tier steining at a cost of Rs 4.15 lakh to protect land and a temple in Bhairon Ki Sair village from the Sukhna choe, a tributary of Ghaggar, had been completed.

Similarly, a scheme for 256-ft three-tier steining for protection to villages from Raipur Wali, a tributary, was completed well in time. The cost of the project was Rs13.32 lakh, he said.

The DC said the district administration had also set up control rooms to get information on the water-level in different rivers.