Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 29: Former Member Legislative Council (MLC), Ch. Vikram Randhawa, today visited flood affected areas of Gandhi Nagar Assembly Segment and observed that encroachment of natural water bodies like khads and nallahs is major reason behind flooding of residential areas.
Randhawa who visited Narwal Bala, Rajiv Nagar and Qasim Nagar today took stock of the damages caused due to floods, which occurred this week following incessant rains, observed that encroachment is the major reason behind flooding of residential areas.
Randhawa said that all governments after 2002 are fully responsible for backing encroachment of nallahs and khads from Sunjwan to Narwal which is the major factor of flooding. He said that the encroachment of nallahs and khads have reduced the width of these natural water bodies and whenever heavy rain lashes the water enters into residential areas.
Randhawa further said that the ministers and MLAs in the governments of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir are fully responsible for backing these encroachments of khads and nallahs for political gains who ignored the consequences. He said that rain will come every year and this situation will repeat again and again until and unless the encroachment is removed.
He urged upon the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, to constitute a committee to removing encroachment of khads and nallahs to give a smooth flow to rainy water during Monsoon or other torrential rains.
“The natural width of khads and nallahs has to be restored along with desilting to avoid floods in residential areas in future otherwise damages will continue to occur as there is no provision to stop waterflow”, Randhawa added.
He also urged upon the people to refrain from encroachment of natural water bodies to allow rainy water a smooth passage to flow downward.
Those who accompanied the former MLC include Tarun Sharma, Amit Gupta, Sham Lal Panch, Davinder Singh, Mohinder Sharma, Ashok Chabra, Harish Kumar, Paras Ram and others.
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