Dera Baba Nanak: Following consistent erosion around the banks of river Ravi and change of its course has resulted in looming flood threat over Dera Baba Nanak. The said river banks of Chanduwadala and Rosse villages, are situated near the international border between Indian administered Punjab and Pakistani administered Punjab in Gurdaspur district.
The river has already eroded 3,500-foot long and 100-foot wide cultivable land of these villages. Continuous erosion of the land of these villages has become a serious cause of concern to residents of these villages. They fear that some day, the river will completely engulf their villages and the international border will expand to the Indian side of Punjab as the Ravi also serves at certain places as the international border between the two countries, notes Hindustan Times (HT) in its report.
A drainage department team, led by Chief Engineer Adarsh Kumar Bansal, visited the area near Chandu Wadala village where a lot of soil erosion has already taken place. The team arrived after local MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa sent a request for help to the state government.
As reported by the media sources, the state government has directed the Gurdaspur administration to divert funds worth Rs 4 crore, which originally were meant for developmental initiatives, to tame the situation.
Pakistan administered Punjab has a natural topographical advantage over Indian administered Punjab as its level of ground is higher than that of East Punjab. So, naturally water of the Ravi will flow more into the East Punjab territory than in West. In case of floods, river water will cause damage to the Indian administered side.
“A flood threat looms large over Dera Baba Nanak town following the changed course of the Ravi. A disaster can be averted only if steps are taken before the first rain lash the area in June. The wire fencing, too, is in danger of being washed away as the waters are flowing barely 200 yards away,” reads the quote from a statement of MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa published in The Tribune (TT).
“The smoke signals are clear. Do something now or perish. That is why we are starting work immediately,” a drainage official reportedly said.