Revival Of Ujh Project To Benefit Jammu And Kashmir, Punjab: Dr Jitendra

PATHANKOT : Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here on thursday that the revival of Ujh Multipurpose Project would benefit Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir in multiple ways. The project was first proposed nearly 100 years ago, he recalled.
The Union Minister said, after its completion, the Ujh project would enhance utilisation of waters of Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) allotted to India as per the Indus Water Treaty to address chronic water shortages and help curb cross-border infiltration. He said, this would facilitate irrigation of nearly 90,000 hectares of agricultural land in Gurdaspur and Pathankot in Punjab, and Samba and Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir.
Talking to local residents and media persons, The Union Minister was speaking during his visit to the flood-hit villages in the Sujanpur area on Day 2 of his tour to the affected places in Punjab, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that the Ministries of Defence and Home Affairs have also now intervened in the matter from the security point of view.
The inter-ministerial arrangement between the Ministries of Home and Water Resources is aimed at pushing forward the proposal for construction of the dam on Ujh forward without further delay, Dr Jitendra Singh added. He said presently, the uncontrolled flow of water is causing damage farmland and BSF establishments during natural disasters like the recent spate of floods in Punjab. At the same time, it is also providing vulnerable entry points for cross-border infiltration, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that the work on the Shahpur Kandi dam, located on river Ravi, had also been held up for several decades, and it was revived by this government only after the intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During his tour of the flood-affected areas of Pathankot today, Dr Jitendra Singh visited Kailashpur, Pangoli and other villages in Sujanpur and met the victims.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister directed the accompanying authorities to undertake immediate measures for rehabilitation of the affectees and built new structures with better qualities to withstand floods in future. While interacting with the victims, Dr Jitendra Singh assured that compensation would be provided for damages suffered by their houses and shops
Deputy Commissioner, Pathankot, Aditya Uppal briefed Dr Jitendra Singh about the spots he visited today. He informed that 250 houses were reported to be severally or partially damaged during floods near Bridge Number 4 in Sujanpur. He said the exact assessment is underway. Approximately, crop damage has been reported over 7 acre land. About 1500 people were affected. However, there were no casualties in Sujanpur. More than 700 persons were rescued by NDRF, Police and the Army.
The Deputy Commissioner also informed the Union Minister that about 200 people were affected in Pangoli where 25 houses belonging to SC community were severally damaged. Approximately, 6 acre crop land was swept away in khad water overflowing adjoining India Oil Petrol Pump towards Mamoon Cantt.
Yesterday, the Union Minister had visited several villages affected by the floods, such as Polla, Kohlian and the river bed of Ravi. Besides, he also visited places along the rivers Ravi and Jlali in Bamial, Chal, Amir, Simbal Sakol, Dhinda and Bhupalpur. On the occasion, the Union Minister was briefed on the level of damage suffered during the calamity.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is monitoring the rehabilitation of the victims and reconstruction work with respect to the damaged infrastructure. The Minister said he is also monitoring the work being undertaken in all 23 districts of Punjab, and receives reports from the local authorities on a daily basis.