Hoshiarpur- The Bist Doaba Canal, which was built in 1956, had high earthen tracks (trails) on both its banks at that time. This ensured that small and big vehicles could come here safely. In those days, the rule was that the movement of big vehicles was stopped here and iron gates were installed at 5 places from Garhshankar to Adampur — including 1 km ahead of Garhshankar, Posi Palh, near Kot Fatuhi, Mahtiana Palh and the area with the railway line near Damuda.
At that time, the canal department's beldar and other employees were present all the time, who kept the condition and slopes of the track good, so that no untoward incident happened. But over time, due to changes in governments and negligence, not only these gates were removed, but the employees also stopped being seen.
Now the common people also have more vehicles and there is traffic without any control.
If we talk about the current situation of the Bist Doaba Canal, then in the last few years, many people have lost their lives from Garhshankar to Adampur and many vehicles have also fallen into the canal and gone missing. These accidents have been reported from time to time in newspapers and TV channels.
There was a time when the road was very bad and accidents used to happen due to potholes, but now the road has become good — but due to the increase in the height of the road and the end of the track, there is no railing for safety. Now big tippers and trailers also come here, which are a threat to small vehicles.
Pandit Balbir Bhardwaj said that recently at Kot Fatuhi bridge, an auto rickshaw driver tried to give way to a tractor and the auto lost control and fell into the canal. The good thing was that since it was daytime, people saved him.
Mr. Sehdev also said that when any ordinary person comes here on his scooter or motorcycle, there is always a fear that a big vehicle will not give way and an accident may occur. On one side is the canal, on the other side is the field - all this together becomes a risk for those who drive small vehicles.
Numberdar Sarabjot Singh Sabi demanded that the government should install safety railings on both sides of the Bist Doaba canal from Garhshankar to Adampur, so that any kind of unwanted incident does not happen. He said that there are bridges or paths at many places of this canal, railings have been installed there, but this is needed on the entire route.
Recently, this matter was discussed during a special meeting with Member of Parliament Dr. Raj Kumar Chabbewal. He had said that the work of installing safety railings will be started here soon.
There is a strong demand from the local people that safety railings should be installed immediately on the banks of this Bist Doaba canal, so that no more family lives are lost and accidents can be prevented.