SHAHKOT /LOHIAN KHAS
Residents of the Shahkot subdivision feel that much of the problem this year is because of the very heavy volume of rainwater which has never been seen since 1993.
But they said that indiscriminate sand mining has added to the problems. Sand miners digging on the riverbeds near the bandhs have weakened the bandhs.
Residents say that heavy-duty tippers loaded with illegal sand frequently use Dussi Bandh for transportation.
They said that members of the sand mafia often attack government officers who go for checking illegal sand mining and said that a case registered by Shahkot police on July 4 against eighteen accused of attacking government officials and illegal sand mining is an example that is an explanation of illegal mining.
Residents said that AAP leader and MP Balbir Singh Seechewal’s recent statement on the floods is welcomed, in which he said that 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.
He told a journalist that Gidderpindi is an example of the indifference of the administration. The water channel here is 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”.
Experts said that politicians and 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.
They said that If bundhs are not strengthening every year before the monsoon season, they will break and cause flooding. But every time, we are told that there are no funds. Drainage never figures in the priority list of all successive governments.