‘Widening Ghaggar under consideration': Punjab minister informs Assembly
Replying to the call attention motion moved by Kuljit Singh Randhawa, the minister said that due to heavy rainfall in 2023, the water level in the Ghaggar had risen significantly.
Consequently, floodwater from the Ghaggar inundated the cultivable land on the left bank, and erosion caused the ground level to drop by approximately eight to 10 feet.
Subsequently, the department installed stone revetment and studs along a 2,500-foot stretch to protect the cultivable land from erosion. To support this revetment, an embankment was constructed behind it by filling it with soil.
He informed that the department spent Rs 5.06 crore on this project. Minister Goyal said that heavy rainfall in the Ghaggar's catchment area on June 29 caused the river's water level to surge suddenly, but the stone revetment remained completely intact.
However, the soil embankment behind the revetment suffered some erosion in certain areas. The department immediately took action and completed the embankment repairs. This restoration work was carried out entirely at the department level.
He said that on July 8, substantial water flow occurred again in the Ghaggar River, but it passed through without causing any damage to the embankment.
The Cabinet Minister reiterated that the proposal is also under consideration to widen the Ghaggar on the right side near Tiwana Village and utilise the excavated soil to broaden and strengthen the left bank.
He said that according to the proposal, this work will be undertaken immediately by the department at an estimated cost of around Rs 11 lakh.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Road widening projects not helping in reducing traffic congestion in big cities: MLC Tambe
Pune: MLC Satyajeet Tambe on Tuesday urged the urban development and home departments to collaborate on finding solutions to the growing traffic menace in major cities, while highlighting the state's traffic woes in the legislative council, particularly on congested highways like Pune-Nashik and Pune-Nagar, which remain bottlenecked despite widening efforts. Tambe, along with other MLCs, raised the hardships faced by common people because of traffic congestion. "According to the latest report of the TomTom index on traffic, Mumbai and Pune are among the cities with the highest traffic congestion. To resolve this issue, some stringent steps are needed from state govt," Tambe said. While state govt and NHAI have undertaken road widening work on various highways and arterial roads of cities, Tambe said, "Earlier, it would take four to five hours to travel between Pune and Nashik and two hours from Pune to Ahilyanagar. Now, despite the road widening work on sections of these highways, the traffic congestion has increased. It shows that road widening has failed to keep pace with the rising vehicle population. " You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune Replying to Tambe on behalf of govt, cabinet minister Uday Samant admitted that traffic congestion became an acute issue in major cities. "Every day, a large number of vehicles are getting registered in major cities, which is adding to traffic problems. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ingin Tahu Tentang Diagnosis Limfoma? Dapatkan Info Selengkapnya Limfoma Baca Undo State govt is, however, working on promoting the mass transport system. It has a plan of creating a network of Metro service where 393.76km of network is planned in Mumbai, 136.42km in Pune, and 83.82km in Nagpur. Once this network is in place, it will encourage people to use Metro service, reducing the use of private vehicles," Samant said. Tambe said govt was introducing modern technology, but it should be foolproof. "State govt is creating a network of CCTV cameras through which traffic offenders are being caught and challans are being issued. Some misappropriation is, however, happening with the system as several vehicle owners have complained that they are either getting wrong challans or double challans for the same offence. According to the figures of state govt, there are Rs 1,000 crore pending for recovery through challans till 2024," Tambe said. He demanded that state govt should hold a joint meeting of home department and urban development department officials to address the traffic issues. "Instead of working in isolation, these departments should work jointly and review certain projects' success to check if they have helped improve the traffic situation in the state," Tambe said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
National highways proposed in Kerala now in limbo
Thiruvananthapuram: Two of Kerala's most significant road development plans, including the proposed Kozhikode-Mysore greenfield corridor and the declaration of 12 key road stretches as national highways (NHs), have hit a wall with Centre either stalling or quietly stepping back from earlier commitments. In a fresh representation to Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), state urged urgent revival of both. Govt asked MPs from the state to take up the matter in Parliament. The Kozhikode-Mysore economic corridor, envisioned as a seamless 24-hour greenfield highway bypassing ecologically sensitive areas, was initially backed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which engaged with forest department to finalise an alignment that would skirt major wildlife sanctuaries. However, the state flagged that NHAI was no longer pursuing the project actively—a development it described as "a matter of serious concern. " The proposed corridor was designed to offer uninterrupted interstate connectivity between Bengaluru and north Kerala, particularly vital in light of the night traffic ban on NH-766 and other roads passing through Bandipur and Wayanad forests. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan personally raised the issue with Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari during a meeting on Dec 6, 2024 but no follow-up commitments materialised. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Undo Equally troubling is Centre's failure to act on its earlier in-principle approval to declare 12 important road stretches in Kerala, totalling 484.6km, as NHs. While the directive to foreclose the preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) came in July 2020, state is now pushing for these road stretches to be revived under the NH network, given that formal notification never followed despite the initial green light. The state's latest appeal underscores that these roads are strategically critical and their upgradation is even more urgent, considering Kerala's overburdened road infrastructure. State currently has just about 580km of NHs under PWD's purview. With one of the highest vehicle and population densities in the country, capacity expansion through centrally funded corridors is being projected as a non-negotiable priority. As these proposals under Bharatmala Pariyojana are being discontinued, state has submitted a fresh set of 17 road stretches covering 1,054km for inclusion in Vision 2047 Master Plan, which MoRTH is currently finalising. These corridors have been identified after a new assessment and reflect the evolving transport and logistics needs of the region, Kerala argues. Adding to its case, govt highlighted that no new major project has been sanctioned for Kerala through PWD's NH wing in the last four years. It urged Centre to include 14 proposed projects amounting to Rs 6,700 crore in MoRTH's current year annual plan, warning that worsening congestion and infrastructure fatigue would continue unless the pipeline was urgently revived. As Centre maintains silence despite multiple submissions, state has now shifted gears politically, urging its MPs to escalate the issue in Parliament in a coordinated push. While the projects themselves may have seen bureaucratic limbo for years, state's current campaign signals that the fight for them is anything but over.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Rs 360000000000 deal: 'Baby S-400' ready to create havoc, weakness of Operation Sindoor will be..., Pakistan in tension because...
Rs 360000000000 deal: 'Baby S-400' ready to create havoc, weakness of Operation Sindoor will be…, Pakistan in tension because… The entire world has seen the prowess of the Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor when India had broken the defence system of Pakistan army within three days. India's defence systems including Brahmos missiles and S-400 played a critical part during the operation. The operation has taught several things to Indian armed forces also where it lacked and where it dominated the Pak army. Now to overcome those lacks, the Indian government has approved a major deal of Rs 36 thousand crores. The money will be spent on preparing three regiments of Baby S-400. However, the Indian Army is demanding 11 such regiments. Plans are going on to spent 1.30 lakh crores will be spent on these 11 regiments.
