Need to make BBMB pay for losses to farmers due to water release: Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said that Himachal would have to fight for its rights and make the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) pay for the damage and losses suffered by farmers in the low-lying areas of Kangra due to the release of water. He was responding to a question raised under Rule 62 in the Vidhan Sabha by Indora MLA Malender Rajan over losses being suffered by people in the Fatehpur and Indora constituencies of Kangra due to the release of water from the Pong Dam. “Thousands of people in Himachal have been displaced due to projects like the Pong and Bhakra dams but the state and its people have not got their legitimate right,” he added.

Sukhu said, “When it comes to protecting Himachal’s rights and giving the state its due, even the Central Government becomes a mute spectator. I assure the House that in the coming days, we will take up the issue with the BBMB and ensure that they provide compensation to farmers for the losses suffered by them.”

Rajan said that people in low-lying areas live in perpetual fear as the BBMB releases water whenever the reservoir level rises. “The BBMB has three dams — Pong, Bhakra and Beas Satluj Link — in Himachal but even now there is no proper mechanism for dam and safety management.” He added that even during the 2023 monsoon, the Indian Air Force had rescued 2,500 persons after the entire area got flooded and this year also, an FIR was registered against the BBMB for the release of water in a callous manner under the Dam Safety Act.

Rajan said that even the relief and rehabilitation measures taken by the BBMB were inadequate and unsatisfactory. “The Energy Department has directed the BBMB to release water in a staggered manner and strengthen the early warning system to alert people and minimise losses,” he added.

Fatehpur MLA Bhawani Pathania said that farmers had lost paddy crop and the Gujjars their houses and cowsheds due to the release of water by the BBMB. He added that there should be a proper mechanism so that people in Mand and other areas did not suffer every year due to the callousness of the BBMB.