Rain pain for Punjab's cotton growers, blessing for paddy farmers
Tribune Reporters
Abohar/Muktsar, June 26
A breach in the Ramsara minor (sub canal) last night lead to flooding in the area. Cotton crop in about 50 acres between Bhagu and Wahabwala village was inundated.
Farmers Gurpreet Singh and Kuldeep Singh said the breach occurred as the canal was overflowing due to heavy rain that lashed the region late last night. Rakesh, an employee of the Canal Department, said a JCB machine had been arranged to plug the breach.
He said farmers had extended their cooperation in clearing out the fields.
Meanwhile in Muktsar, rain accompanied by speedy winds last night brought relief for paddy growers in the district. The paddy sowing season is underway and the temperature had been hovering around 42°C for the past few days.
The rain, however, caused some losses to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and the Irrigation Department. For instance, the power supply could be restored in Gidderbaha town only after around 15 hours today.
Meanwhile, rain also caused breach in two minors in the district. The breach in Khara minor inundated around 50 acres at Warring village. Similarly, a breach occurred in Sakkanwali minor. Farmers claimed the administration failed to timely clean the water channels.
Till the filing of this report, some low-lying areas were waterlogged in Muktsar town. Luckily, no major loss was reported from anywhere in the district. Sources in the PSPCL said they had received a large number of complaints related to electricity supply in Malout subdivision.
During the day, Bikramjit Singh Shergill, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Muktsar, held a meeting with officials of various departments to review the preparedness to tackle waterlogging.
He directed the officials of the drainage wing of the Irrigation Department to clean the drains by July 10. He also directed all block development and panchayats officers (BDPOs) to get cleaned village ponds and keep water lifting motors ready to deal with any situation.
Officials of the sewerage board were told to continue the work of cleaning manholes in municipal areas.
Man dies due to roof collapse in Bathinda
- Bathinda: Residents of the district got much-needed respite from the scorching heat after it rained 23mm on Sunday night
- However, a man died due to a roof collapse in Malkana village
- Social worker Gurtej Singh said Rampal Singh died after the roof of his room collapsed due to rain and strong winds
- In another incident, roof of the house of Shanti Ram of Rama Mandi also collapsed
- The rain and strong winds also led to power cuts in Bathinda city
