In bid to ensure the supply of canal water to farmers at tail-end in the state, Punjab Water Resources Minister Mr. Bram Shanker Jimpa, on Wednesday, directed the department officials to plug all the illegal water outlets, besides repairing all the altered outlets before the commencement of paddy season.These directions were issued by the Cabinet Minister while holding a meeting with AAP MLAs Mr. Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy from Jalalabad, Mr. Sarvan Singh Dhun from Khemkaran and Mr. Narinder Pal Singh Sawna from Fazilka here at Punjab Civil Secretariat-1.
He asked the officials to bring the altered outlets back to their original size and also complete the cleaning and repair work of minors and distributaries well-before the beginning of the paddy season.Mr. Bram Shanker Jimpa also ordered officials to complete the work of repair/cleaning of Arniwala minor, Bhagsar, Ladhuka, Mamdot, Laxman, Barkatwah and Faizwah at the earliest so that farmers would not have to face any hardship for sowing of paddy crop.
Taking a strict note of reports regarding canal water theft, the Cabinet Minister instructed the officials to conduct surprise inspections to prevent this illegal practice so that the tail-end farmers would also get adequate share of canal water.Principal Secretary Water Resources Mr. Krishan Kumar, Chief Engineer Canals Mr. Ishwar Goel and other senior officials of the department were also present in the meeting.