Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said he would meet the Central government Ministers and officials to press for reinforcement of the embankments of the Ghaggar river, which has breached and caused serious damage to standing crops and other assets in Sangrur and Patiala districts after the recent rain.
He said the division of Punjab by the Akalis in 1966 had led to the Ghaggar going into the hands of the Central Water Commission, causing the State to lose control over the critical maintenance of its embankments.
“The Akalis had even stopped the reinforcement work undertaken by him in his previous term,” he said. He added that during his last term, his government had completed 22 km of reinforcement, after which all work was suspended by the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government.
He made an aerial survey to assess the damage caused by the flooding due to a breach in the Ghaggar catchment area in Sangrur and Patiala districts.
Crops damaged
Capt. Amarinder said about 50,000 acres of crop had been lost in Patiala and another 10,000 acres in Sangrur. “The Ghaggar was creating problems in Bathinda also, where even the Police Lines are under water,” he said, adding that the district had received the highest rainfall in 40 years, causing the water to flow at very high levels.
