Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Chaudhary laid the foundation stone of Water Supply Scheme (WSS) at Sungal Parmana in Akhnoor and inspected the flood prone sites at Sangrampur, Sitriwala, Chanjwan and Maira along river Chenab. The scheme having a capacity of 5,000 gallons per hour would be constructed at the cost of Rs. 213.55 lakh. The project being executed under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) will benefit the villagers living in Sungal Parmana, Mohalla Karala and their adjoining areas. It is pertinent to mention that National Rural Drinking Water Programme caters to the emerging challenges in availability, sustainability and quality of drinking water in rural areas. To deal with the problem of seasonal flood and minimize the damage to the areas, the Minister said that motors and water pumps would be kept reserved and ready at the pumping stations so that they can be used immediately at the time of emergency. The water tankers would also be kept reserved for various villages of Akhnoor that solely depend on water tankers, for potable drinking water, he added. While inspecting the flood prone sites, the Minister directed the concerned for repairing the damaged revetments and construct the new ones for saving the life and property of people living close to river Chenab. Sham Lal said that the Government is working relentlessly to ensure equitable development of the state for which several development plans have been chalked out. The aim of PHE department is to provide clean drinking water to each and every household in the State with special focus on border and kandi areas, he added. Later, the Minister also inaugurated road leading from main road to Siterwala and Bandwal. MLA Akhnoor Rajeev Sharma, Chief Engineer PHE Department, Jammu, Chief Engineer, Irrigation & Flood Control, senior Engineers of departments and villagers were also present on the occasion.
