Drainage Dept starts plugging breach in Ludhiana's Buddha Nullah

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 2

Finally, the Drainage Department has started repairing the damaged embankment of the Buddha Nullah near Talwara village. Currently, sandbags in wire crates are being placed at the damaged site of the nullah embankment.

Rakesh Kumar, SDO, Drainage Department, said the work is being done on a priority basis and the breach will be plugged completely within two-three days. Cleaning was also being done near Jainpur village.

According to villagers, nearly two weeks ago, a portion of the embankment got washed away during heavy rain. However, it was not repaired timely due to shortage of funds with the department concerned. During the rain last week, polluted water entered more fields.

The villagers demand proper strengthening of the nullah banks as they claimed the nullah had overflowed in the past too. They blamed the Drainage Department for not cleaning the drain on time.

The villagers said they were still waiting for the government’s attention as nobody came to inspect the fields wherein highly polluted water had entered from the breach in the banks of the nullah.

Kamal of Bagga Khurd village said, “Chemical-mixed black coloured water has accumulated in my paddy fields. Everybody knows how harmful the water of the Buddha Nullah is. The crops have been submerged in polluted water for a number of days. Assessment of the fields should be done to know how much damage to crops has been done by the polluted water. Moreover, the nullah banks should be strengthened to avoid chances of floods in future.”

Satwinder Singh Bittu, whose wife is sarpanch of Bagga Khurd, said, “Nobody from any department concerned or administration visited to inspect the fields wherein the Buddha Nullah’s water damaged the paddy crop and fodder. We want that all the assessments should be done on a priority basis and then compensation should be paid accordingly.”

He said, “As the water is not flowing properly due to collection of a huge amount of waste in the nullah near Jainpur, the water of the Buddha Nullah had overflowed, washing away the embankment portion. Along with strengthening the banks, the drain should also be cleaned at the earliest.”

Varinder Kumar Sharma, DC, said the water did not remain accumulated in the fields for long period. There is no report of any major damage to crops, nor has there been any very heavy rainfall.

Drainage department officials had earlier blamed some persons for excavating soil adjoining the nullah embankment. They said the embankment had got damaged due to the excavation of soil.

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