Drains clogged, Muktsar district yet to initiate steps to check waterlogging
Archit Watts
Muktsar, June 13
Measures to check waterlogging are set to get delayed in Muktsar district this time as work on the ground is yet to start. The work has to be completed before the onset of the rainy season in July.
Work to begin on June 17
The work on cleaning some drains will begin on June 17, and on a few others, it will be carried out from June 30. Harpreet Singh Sudan, Muktsar DC
A random visit to some villages today revealed that the drains were clogged with wild growth and de-silting and cleaning work on these was yet to start. Farmers said rains in the past had caused widespread loss and the district was prone to waterlogging, but despite this, the administration was yet to initiate steps to check waterlogging. Some village ponds are also yet to be dewatered and cleaned.
Farmers Manjit Singh, Nirpal Singh and Nishan Singh of Midda village said a drain in the area had not been cleaned yet. Last year, some farmers of the village had even lodged a protest in this regard. Agriculture Minister-cum-Lambi MLA Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and Muktsar MLA Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar had last year toured their respective Assembly segments and found that some drains were not cleaned and the work was carried out only after their intervention. In 2022, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had visited this village and found the drain overflowing.
According to a notification of the Irrigation Department, 225 of the 234 villages in Muktsar district are prone to waterlogging. Of these, 91 villages are in Muktsar subdivision, 91 in Malout subdivision and 43 in Gidderbaha subdivision.
The department has exempted 77 waterlogging-prone villages in the district from its paddy-sowing schedule. The farmers in these villages are allowed to sow paddy any time after harvesting their previous crop.
Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan said, “The work on cleaning some drains will begin on June 17, and on a few others, it will be carried out from June 30. The tendering process is underway. The work got delayed due to the model code of conduct for the LS elections.”
