With help of few workers, Seechewal out to strengthen Dhussi bundh

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, May 5

At a time when people have been staying indoors amid the lockdown, environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal has been making all-out efforts to strengthen the Dhussi bundh on the Sutlej and supervising the ongoing desilting work under the rail-road bridge at Gidderpindi village in Lohian Khas.

Seechewal said this massive desilting operation was executed by the Ministry of Railways in January at an estimated cost of Rs50 lakh. He said since then, he had been supervising the work.

He said, “Earlier around 100 volunteers from 20 villages, including Mandiala Channa, Mundi Kalo and Darewal, were engaged in the work and three excavator machines were pressed into service to dig mud. However, as no volunteers were allowed to go to the spot after the lockdown, I decided to continue with the work on my own. It has to be done before the monsoon to prevent any damage.”

“I reach the village around 6:30 am and return late evening. As we do not have enough manpower at present, I, along with a few workers, have been carrying out the work with excavating machines,” Seechewal said, adding that the major cause for floods in the area last year was deposition of silt under and around the bridge.

“I have not let the work stop for even a single day. Even when I was home quarantined for 14 days last month, I used to supervise the work over phone. I sent my volunteers to help the workers,” he said.

“Nearly 94 villages in Jalandhar were badly affected due to the floods. Residents are yet to recover from losses, while the pandemic has further worsened their situation. Thus, this desilting work has to be finished at the earliest to save villages from another calamity,” he added.

The environmentalist said besides digging, the dug-up mud and sandbags were being deposited at the Dhussi bundh to strengthen it. Moreover, he was also helping the residents of the Gidderpindi and nearby villages by providing them with cooked meals and dry ration.