81 buffaloes washed away as BBMB releases water

Tribune News Service

Ropar, June 2

Eighty-one buffaloes were washed away when the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) released water into the Sutlej river near Kalitran village here today. Three persons — Mukhtar, Bikka and Billa — had taken their cattle to the river so that they could drink water. Mukhtar said they had suffered a loss of more than Rs 50 lakh.

Kalitran village sarpanch said these dairy owners had been coming to the river bank for the past few years during summer.

The BBMB was releasing water in the river since yesterday and today the flow of water suddenly increased due to which a number of buffaloes got washed away. He said the village panchayat was not informed about the release of water by the authorities concerned.

As the water level increased to 1,615 ft yesterday, the BBMB authorities decided to release water from the reservoir into the Sutlej.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Tanu Garg confirmed that the district administration had got prior information from the BBMB regarding release of water in the river.

She claimed that all village panchayats were informed about this in advance and even announcements were made in the areas adjoining the banks of the Sutlej in the area.