'Widening Ghaggar under consideration': Punjab minister informs Assembly

Chandigarh, July 15 (IANS) Punjab Water Resources Minister Barindar Kumar Goyal on Tuesday informed the Assembly that the proposal to widen the Ghaggar river near Tiwana village in Dera Bassi and strengthen its embankment is under consideration.

Replying to the call attention motion moved by Kuljit Singh Randhawa, the minister said that due to heavy rainfall in 2023, the water level in the Ghaggar had risen significantly.

Consequently, floodwater from the Ghaggar inundated the cultivable land on the left bank, and erosion caused the ground level to drop by approximately eight to 10 feet.

Subsequently, the department installed stone revetment and studs along a 2,500-foot stretch to protect the cultivable land from erosion. To support this revetment, an embankment was constructed behind it by filling it with soil.

He informed that the department spent Rs 5.06 crore on this project. Minister Goyal said that heavy rainfall in the Ghaggar's catchment area on June 29 caused the river's water level to surge suddenly, but the stone revetment remained completely intact.

However, the soil embankment behind the revetment suffered some erosion in certain areas. The department immediately took action and completed the embankment repairs. This restoration work was carried out entirely at the department level.

He said that on July 8, substantial water flow occurred again in the Ghaggar River, but it passed through without causing any damage to the embankment.

The Cabinet Minister reiterated that the proposal is also under consideration to widen the Ghaggar on the right side near Tiwana Village and utilise the excavated soil to broaden and strengthen the left bank.

He said that according to the proposal, this work will be undertaken immediately by the department at an estimated cost of around Rs 11 lakh.

--IANS

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