Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 25: Former Minister and senior BJP leader, Choudhary Sukhnandan Kumar today strongly criticized the Omar Abdullah-led Government for its failure to undertake timely dredging and desilting of nallahs and canals in the rural belt of Jammu, which has now resulted in heavy floods and damage to both residential areas and agricultural land.
The BJP leader today visited to several flood-affected areas in Jammu Rural constituency, including Talab Tillo,Udaiwala, Marh and adjoining villages.
Speaking on the occasion, Sukhnandan said that repeated appeals had been made to the administration to take up dredging of the water channels and nallahs, but the demands were consistently ignored.
“Without raising the issue of Statehood every now and then, Omar Abdullah could have at least ensured basic preventive measures such as dredging of the canals and nallahs in Jammu’s rural areas. Today, the negligence has resulted in accumulated silt and blockage of water flow, which has aggravated the flood situation,” he said.
The senior BJP leader pointed out that almost all nallahs of Jammu city eventually converge towards the low-lying areas of Talab Tillo, Marh, Patyalichak, Akalpur, Sarora, Suhzadpur, Chouhani Chak, Tikri Khani, Tikri Dyala, Tikri Rakwala, Nagrota (Nagrota), Chak Lal Din, Ghoumanasa , Rathua, Taru Chak and surrounding plain belts, making these regions highly vulnerable during heavy rains.
He said, “The silting of water tributaries has reached alarming levels, leading to waterlogging and overflowing into fields and residential colonies. The houses have suffered extensive damage, it is the farming community that has faced the worst brunt, with large portions of standing crops destroyed in the floods.”
“The Government’s inaction has dealt a double blow to the farmers, first by destroying their homes and then by wiping out their crops. It is shameful that even routine works like dredging are ignored, leaving poor villagers at the mercy of floods every monsoon,” he added.
Sukhnandan urged the administration to immediately start restoration and desilting drives of all major nallahs and canals across Jammu rural areas and also demanded adequate compensation for the affected farmers and households.
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