FLOODS OCCURRED DUE TO UNPRECEDENTED HEAVY RAINS, NOT MINING ACTIVITIES
(MOREPIC1) Face2News/Chandigarh
Punjab Water Resources Minister Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal, on Saturday, rebutted the remarks of Union Agriculture Minister Sh. Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who alleged that floods in Punjab were triggered by illegal mining.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, the Cabinet Minister termed the allegations as baseless and misleading, asserting that floods were caused by record rainfall and unprecedented inflow of water in rivers. “The present focus must remain on relief and rehabilitation of affected families instead of political blame games”, he added.
The Cabinet Minister informed that Punjab witnessed extraordinary discharge of 14.11 lakh cusecs in River Ravi this year, surpassing the 11.2 lakh cusecs recorded in 1988. Strengthening works worth over Rs.200 crore undertaken by the Punjab Government during the last two years ensured that embankments withstood the pressure, with no breaches reported along government-controlled bundhs of River Beas.
Terming the Union Minister’s statement Illogical, the Cabinet Minister clarified that mining is banned in River Ravi within five kilometers of the international border due to Army and BSF restrictions, while River Beas is a declared “Conservation Reserve” where mining is prohibited. No mining exists in Ghaggar River, while in Sutlej, operations are permitted only under approved mine plans and with Environmental Clearance from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). He stressed that regulated mining in Punjab does not endanger river embankments and no mining activity is permitted within 100 meters of flood protection embankments.
Rejecting the Union Minister’s claims, Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal said that unprecedented rainfall was the sole cause of floods, with Chamba recording 1205 percent, Kangra 275 percent and Pathankot 820 percent above normal on August 25 alone. He pointed out that attributing such natural calamity to illegal mining was unjust to the suffering people of Punjab.
