IEP Moonak(Sangrur)/Chandigarh, July 9
Punjab Water Resources Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Sunday said that the water resources department was fully prepared to deal with any untoward situation due to the increased water level in the reservoirs due to the continuous rain in the hilly areas and Punjab as well. The cabinet minister was here at Moonak to visit the banks of seasonal river Ghaggar at several places and said that the situation was fully under control and there was no need to panic. The minister was also accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal and SDM Suba Singh along with officials of the department as he visited Moonak-Tohana Bridge in Ghaggar and banks at Makraur Sahib. Meet Hayer said that following the instructions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, foolproof preparations have been made by the Water Resources Department and apart from him, all the officers/employees of the department have posted in the field to regularly monitor the situation of water level of seasonal rivers, tributaries and canals. A flood control room has already been established at the head office level. Apart from this, flood control rooms have also been established in all districts of the state. All the field functionaries were being updated regularly about the water level and release of water was being informed well advance so that they should alert the district administrations and people. The Water Resources Minister said that the department has already done flood prevention works before the monsoon season and the department was fully prepared to deal with any emergency. He said that around 5.5 crore ripped have been spent on prevention works only in Sangrur district. He further said that as far as dams were concerned, satisfactory buffer was available till the maximum level of dams. The district civil and police administration was promptly visiting the ground level and taking stock of the entire situation. The field staff of the department like XENs, SDOs and JEs have already been instructed and they are keeping an eye on the sensitive places. The field staff was in full coordination with the district administration. Meet Hayer also appealed to the people to keep regular contact with the Deputy Commissioner office of their respective districts so that they can be safeguarded in case of any emergency. The staff of the department has been asked to monitor the fields along with night vigil. Directions have already been issued to keep the immediate measures like keeping empty cement bags ready to deal with any eventuality.
