 et plus report
Kathua, Mar 6: The Ravi Tawi RCC Lower Division irrigation canal, constructed around nine decades back has turned into a garbage dumping station.
The canal was constructed to provide irrigation facility to several villages of tehsil Hiranagar, besides the villagers also used to drink water of canal but with each passing decade locals encroached land of canal and also started throwing garbage into it, said Krishan Chand of Channi and Bishan Dass Mangtia.
They further said that the canal had been proved a boon to farmers and had increased the production to crops to minifolds, but with population growth, many houses sprang on canal banks, while some people also constructed toilets on its banks. A contractor executing the de-silting works of canal, said that more than forty toilets/bathroom and kitchen outlets were submerging into it, making it more and more filthy.
The locals urged the state government and concerned minister Sham Lal to take steps to remove encroachments on either side of the canal.
Junior Engineer Vijay Dutta said that anti encroachment drives would be started soon, because earlier the people had taken stay of court, but now it has been vacated.
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