Kullu: Channeling of Beas continues to hang fire

Our Correspondent

Kullu, April 17

Residents of Kullu have demanded that the proposed channeling of the Beas and its tributaries be expedited to prevent damage from frequent floods. They feel the damage caused by flashfloods in July last year would have been much less had the channeling of the Beas and its tributaries been done. Parts of the recently constructed national highway, bridges and footbridges were swept away in flashfloods last year.

Channeling is the process of straightening and deepening of channels in rivers to make the flow of the river easier and safer. The proposal for the channeling of the Beas on the 70-km stretch from Palchan near Manali to Aut in Mandi district has been hanging fire for the past around two decades as successive governments in the state and at the Centre did not work on the proposal on the ground.

Sushil, a senior engineer from Bajaura, says, “The damage caused due to flashfloods in July last year would have been much less had the channeling of the Beas been done”. “The Beas channeling will prevent encroachments on riverbanks and curtail illegal mining,” says Gagan, a resident of Kullu.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, on a visit to review the flood situation on July 18, 2023, had said that the matter of the Beas channeling would be raised with the Central Government.

After laying the foundation of the embankment protection work of the 195-m stretch from the Gau Sadan to the sewage treatment plant in the Lanka Baker area of Kullu town, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Sunder Singh Thakur had said on March 15 this year that 24 detailed project reports of the channeling of rivers and embankments protection work worth Rs 188 crore in the Kullu Assembly constituency had been sent to the State Disaster Mitigation Authority. Of these, six projects worth Rs 38 crore had been approved and the budget released, he had said. However, the total cost of the Beas channeling from Palchan to Aut is estimated to be around Rs 1,669 crore.

Kullu Jal Shakti Executive Engineer (XEN) Arun Sharma says that a detailed project report (DPR) was submitted to the Central Water Commission (CWC) last year which was sent back with some observations. “The matter was taken up with the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), which sought some details to revise the DPR. Data is being prepared and it will be submitted to the CWPRS within 10 to 15 days,” he adds.

Floods in the Beas river and tributaries continue to cause damage almost every year now. Massive floods have been witnessed in the Beas in 1971, 1988, 1995, 2018 and 2023.

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