Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Choudhary conducted an extensive tour of areas along river Tawi to get first-hand information about the losses caused to life and property due to the rise in water level in view of incessant rains in the region. During the tour, the Minister directed the officers of the concerned department to assess the situation and come out with solutions for immediately restoring the affected areas and preventing further damages. He directed for keeping a close vigil on the situation and taking appropriate measures to deal with any exigency. The Minister was informed that the department was regularly monitoring the situation and State Disaster Response Force and defense forces have been kept on high alert for immediately responding to any untoward incident in any part of the region. The Minister directed for taking short and long term steps to prevent floods including developing concrete embankments to prevent any loss to life and property. He directed the engineers to identify the areas prone to floods and prepare the DPRs for plugging the gaps. Meanwhile, the Minister has appealed the general public not to venture close to the rivers and refrain from taking their livestock along the rivers for grazing in view of the unprecedented water rise due to monsoon rains. Earlier in the day, the Minister called an emergency meeting of the engineers of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department to assess the water levels of various rivers in the region including Chenab, Tawi, Ujh, Basantar and Devak. Chief Engineer, Irrigation & Flood Control Rajeev Gandotra, Superintending Engineer, and Executive Engineers accompanied the Minister during the tour.
