With an objective of preparing a comprehensive plan for reducing the extent of damage caused by frequent floods in river Chenab, Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Chaudhary today convened a meeting to review the status of DPRs being prepared for various flood protection works.In the meeting the concerned officers gave a detailed presentation of the DPRs being prepared for creating embankments, revetments and repairing the critical spots on both the sides of Chenab.The Minister was informed about the highly vulnerable areas along river Chenab including Sangrampur, Gurki Dhakki Colony, Maira, Sitriwala, Chak Sikander, Dhanpur, Pangali, Gair Bakore, Garkhal, Kotli Fattu, Sajwal, Bakore, Pargwal, Hamirpur and Malabela.The Minister was told about the spots on both sides of the river which need immediate attention for carrying out repair works. The department has prepared a comprehensive flood management project to repair critical spots and creating revetments for reducing the damage in the future.
While addressing the meeting, the Minister said that focus of the government is to contain damages accruing to civilian settlements due to frequent rise in water level in the river besides checking loss of standing crops and livestock.He further said that the initiative has been taken to protect the areas from vulnerable situations arising in the future. The State had seen severe damage caused by floods in 2014 and the government is working day in and day out to tackle any situation, he added.MLA, Akhnoor Rajiv Sharma, Secretary to Govt, PHE, Sanjeev Verma, Chief Engineer, PHE Susheel Aima, Chief Engineer, I&FC Rajeev Gandotra and other officers of the department were present in the meeting.Later, the Minister kick started the blacktopping work of 1.25 km long link road from Sattowali to Haripur to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs. 30 lakh. The link road will provide connectivity to Badyal Qazian, Gharana, Sattowali, Haripur and other adjoining villages.