Choked water passages behind Punjab flooding, say Experts

Tribune News Service

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Chandigarh, July 12

While the government is yet to commence any exercise on finding reasons for the flood situation, experts blame politicians and the administration in not addressing the potential threats in time.

Govt responsible

The biggest reason for the current situation is the government not cleaning the water passages of silt and not checking the construction activity on the banks of water bodies. Balbir Singh Seechewal, member of parliament

Talking to The Tribune correspondent, renowned environmentalist, Balbir Singh Seechewal, said, “The biggest reason for the current situation is the government not cleaning the water passages of silt and not checking the constructions on the banks of water bodies.”

“The story is the same all over the state. I will give you just one example of Gidderpindi in Jalandhar district. The water channel here filled with silt. After repeated applications, we were assured that the silt would be cleared by November 2022. The issue remained unaddressed till June this year when we showed the ground to Nakodar MLA Inderjit Kaur Mann, Dharmkot MLA Devinderjeet Singh Laddi Dhose and MP Sushil Rinku. The work ultimately started last week of June and by then the monsoon had almost arrived”.

Owners of structures, mostly shops, on the banks do not allow desilting at many places, official sources said.

SE, Irrigation, Patiala, Manoj Bansal, said, “The encroachments and issues of unplanned constructions are correct, however, much of the problem this year is because of the very heavy volume of rain waters. We had never seen this volume of water since 1993. We need to sit and plan for the next 100 years”.

Ex-Chief Engineer (Irrigation) Jaskaran Singh said, “Politicians and even bureaucrats have failed to keep themselves abreast with the developing situation in water channels. Wells and hand pumps have dried. Underground recharging of water has also been impacted due to different reasons. It’s a now or never situation to reevaluate and save our future”.

A senior officer in the Irrigation Department said, “We are engaged in fighting the crisis and helping people. A high-level review will be undertaken after the flood waters subsided.”

Dr Rajkumar Singh, a retired engineer, said, “Kharar falls in a low-lying zone as compared to adjoining areas of Chandigarh. Certain residential societies here are on the dry areas of water bodies. The scene is the same in many other places so there will always be a danger”.

Cities like Bathinda have an inherent flaw in its development as even a little rain floods the town. Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar have shown that the sewage pipes need to be upgraded according to current needs, a senior official said.

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