Farmers of the Shutrana Assembly constituency in Patiala district have come together to strengthen the embankments on the Ghaggar ahead of the monsoon.
The local residents are contributing labour, machinery, fuel and food services to protect their homes and fields from possible floods in the monsoon season.
Farmers from villages along the Ghaggar belt have begun repair and reinforcement work of the embankments from Khanauri to Rasouli. They mobilised tractors, earth-moving machines and fuel at their own expense.
SAD extends support
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Jagmeet Singh Hariau also extended support to the work. The Drainage Department had constructed embankments on one side of the Ghaggar, but no such protection had been developed on the Shutrana side.
The Akali leadership has recently provided 1,500 litres of diesel for the embankment strengthening work and assured farmers of further assistance, if required, during the course of work.
‘Work on ground missing’
The local people have accused the Punjab Government of making claims about flood preparedness without undertaking meaningful ground-level work.
They alleged that during the past four years, the Aam Aadmi Party government had failed to strengthen the vulnerable embankments along the Shutrana side of the river.
They claimed that temporary repair works were being assigned to workers for a few days without any long-term effort to clean the Ghaggar or reinforce weak sections of the embankments.
Baba Buta Singh, a local activist, said his services for the workers would continue as long as the embankment strengthening work remained underway.
