Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Aam Aadmi Party legislator from Ajnala Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, accompanied by a delegation of village sarpanches from his border constituency, met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil on Monday to press for the expeditious construction of a multipurpose dam across the Ujh River in Jammu and Kashmir. Presenting the memorandum directly to the Centre in Chandigarh, Dhaliwal stressed that building the water-retention structure remains vital to regulating downstream flows entering Punjab, which routinely trigger severe seasonal flooding across low-lying rural belts.
Highlighting the long-standing crisis faced by riverside settlements, Dhaliwal pointed out that recurring inundations have inflicted heavy losses on farmland, livestock, and homes across multiple generations. He noted that the constant hazard of waterlogging and soil erosion has severely depressed capital investment and stalled local enterprise, with industrial promoters reluctant to establish facilities in a flood-prone landscape. The legislator argued that stabilizing the river flow is a prerequisite for ensuring socioeconomic security and creating durable livelihood opportunities for the border populace.
Emphasizing the strategic utility of the infrastructure, Dhaliwal explained that the proposed Ujh Dam would not only mitigate downstream deluge risks but also generate hydroelectric power, feed regional irrigation networks, and stimulate local employment. Having previously petitioned the Governors of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir on the matter, the delegation called upon the Union Jal Shakti Ministry to fast-track the clearances and execution of the long-pending project to permanently protect the vulnerable border communities.
