No lessons learnt, desilting work far from over

Flood watch: The Tribune revisits ground zero a year after

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Ropar, July 18

Though arrival of the monsoon is met with joie de vivre by the farmers, the overcast sky today kept Parminder Singh of Garhi village in Ropar on the tenterhooks.

Hundreds of farmers living in the villages situated on the banks of Sutlej and its tributaries — Budhki and Siswan — still remember the horror of July 9 to 10 last year, when unprecedented torrential rainfall here and in Himachal Pradesh led to the sharp rise in water level of the river, which in turn flooded thousands of acres of standing crop and damaged infrastructure.

Despite havoc caused by the flash floods, the residents and the administration does not seem to have learnt the lessons.

While the villagers didn’t allowed desilting of the Sutlej and its two tributaries at several spots, as many are involved in illegally mining, the administration, which succumbed to the public pressure, did the lining works —revetment and construction of spurs — intermittently along the river banks.

Drainage Executive Engineer Harshant Verma said, “Our hands are tied as most of the embankments along the Sutlej are privately owned. We have repaired all river protection structures damaged last year. Ropar is among the few districts, which used Rs 1.50 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund for completing revetment works, especially in Chota Daudpur and Harsa Bela villages.”

Even encroachments on drains have been a cause for concern. A few weeks ago, Principal Secretary Irrigation Krishan Kumar had to visit the area to get the encroachment on Phool drain removed to allow smooth flow of storm water.

At several places, temporary sand embankments made last year during the flooding are still visible. Davinder Singh of Chupki village said, “These are so weak that they will give way immediately when the water comes gushing down.” Gurdeep Singh and Sukhwinder Kaur of Khizarpur said they had not received any compensation for crop damage.

“Our fields remained inundated for four days. Even our houses were partially damaged. We have not received a single penny from the state government,” the duo said.

In Nurpur Bedi, Dharam Pal of Khad Bathlour village said a huge quantity of silt that got deposited on the roads, had not been lifted.

Ropar Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav said in the last one year, we had put all flood protection measures in place. Yadav said, “In 2023, breaches were reported in the Sutlej, Budhki and Siswan along with Sirhind, Bhakra mainline and Sutlej-Yamuna Link canals. Despite getting limited time to respond, we managed to ensure minimal loss of life and property.”

Vulnerable spots identified

We have done extensive aerial surveys, which helped us in identifying vulnerable spots. Along with constructing revetments, we have also strengthened the embankments. At some places, locals objected to desilting, but we used the force and got the work done. As for the compensation, all claims have been settled and maximum infrastructure has been repaired. — Preeti Yadav, Ropar Deputy Commissioner