SAS Nagar, November 7 – Lok Raj Punjab has demanded a judicial inquiry into the criminal negligence of the Bhakra Management Board during the floods and to give Punjab control over the Bhakra-Pong dams so that riparian Punjab can enjoy daily life in the future. can be saved from the unnecessary destruction of floods.
Talking to the journalists during the protest held by Lok Raj in Phase 5 market here today with black flags, Lok Raj President Mr. Mahendra Singh Randhawa, Patron Sz. Swaran Singh Boparae and Mr. Kulbir Singh Sidhu (both former IAS officers) said that during the debate at Ludhiana on November 1, important facts about the recent Punjab floods were revealed in the speech of the Chief Minister of Punjab but remained ignored.
He said that out of Rajasthan's share of 18,000 cusecs of water collected in the dam, it refused to accept 16,000 cusecs of water during the recent floods. Meanwhile, it became impossible to contain the snowmelt and rainwater in the catchment area in the dams. For which the space left was reduced and the safety floodgates of Bhakra and Paung dams were opened to release water into the Sutlej and Beas rivers and an unmanageable flood raged in Punjab.
He said that following the example of Rajasthan, Haryana also refused to take its allotted share of water. The excess water in the dams was released to protect the dams, which worsened the already dire situation of floods raging in the districts of Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Patiala, Mansa, Fazalka, Moga, Ferozepur and Punjab and left alone to face the flooded Punjab.
He said that according to reports, 19 districts, 1469 villages of Punjab were affected and 40 human lives were lost.
The leaders said that this clearly shows that the mandatory safety rules and management protocols of the dams were ignored by the Bhakra Beas Management Board. As per the rules, by the end of May, all the dams must release the previously stored water to the regulated minimum level and the water coming into the dams due to snowmelt in June-July and subsequent rains in the catchment area. It is important to make room for water. He said it was a criminal negligence on the part of the Bhakra Beas Management Board to release the share of water from Rajasthan and Haryana by storing it in the dams earlier, as the water was present in the dams/lakes even till the floods, as revealed by the Chief Minister of Punjab. has appeared
Holding the Bhakra Beas Management Board and the Center as well as the State Water Resources Department responsible for the floods, they demanded an immediate and impartial judicial inquiry to fix the responsibility of the concerned authorities responsible for the management of the board, which also found that Did it all happen by mistake, or was it done under duress?
He said that the Punjab government should take legal recourse to compensate the damages caused by the floods from the unjust water distribution states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. They demanded from the central government that keeping the interests of Punjab and the country at the forefront, stop the injustice with Punjab and immediately give the control of BBMB to Punjab and Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi (which are distributing the water of the river dams). The damage caused to Punjab due to floods should also be compensated according to the proportion of distributed water.
On this occasion, the Punjabis living abroad were appealed to join the Punjab Bachao Movement by hoisting black flags on their vehicles, residences and institutions to stop this injustice and destruction of the Punjab Nadal. International pressure can be created to stop the disaster.