Breaches hit dhussi bundh at three points in Nawanshahr

Erosion at three locations along the dhussi bundh was reported in the wee hours on Tuesday in Burj Tehal Das village, Nawanshahr. The local administration and villagers reached the site early this morning to assess the situation.

Nawanshahr Deputy Commissioner Ankurjeet Singh confirmed that the bundh had eroded in sections. However, he noted that the higher elevation of nearby fields reduces the immediate threat.

"Strengthening of the bundh is being done. We will manage the situation. There is no need to panic," Singh told The Tribune.

Jagdish, a local farmer, said the erosion occurred late at night. "We’ve been working to protect the bundh for the past month, and now this has happened. We just hope things return to normal soon, otherwise the farmers will bear huge losses," he said.

ADC Rajiv Verma stated that the district administration is working at full pace and will not allow water to enter the fields.

Meanwhile, another farmer from the village expressed his distress, saying, “Paani da kuch keh nahee sakde (You can’t predict what water will do). If it enters the fields, the damage will be severe and unbearable. The government should act on priority to save this area. Also, if water enters the villages from this side, it will also enter Phillaur in Jalandhar," he said.

The work to control and plug the erosion and breach occurred in dhussi bundh was in full swing by villagers under the supervision of the Army team and civil officials today.

The DC further mentioned that the work of filling the breach and strengthening the bundh was on a war footing by the villagers in association with administrative officers, the Army team and around 400 Punjab Police personnel.

He said the inflow of water in the river was lower and the land at the breach site is slightly higher that’s why the water could not touch the agriculture land.

The administration was also getting a ring bundh established for which the work had begun to safeguard the bundh and agriculture land adjoining the embankment. He also made an appeal to the people that the plugging work is continuously going on so there is no need to panic, besides being cautious from rumours.

Expressing gratitude towards villagers, who are constantly working to strengthen the bundh for the last few days, the Deputy Commissioner said that with the cooperation of the people, the district administration would shortly fill the gap successfully.