Incomplete channelisation of Swan worries Una farmers

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Una, June 23

Farmers having fields and houses along the Swan river tributaries in Una district are a worried lot as the Met Department has predicted more than normal monsoon this year. Incomplete channelisation of the Swan river tributaries in the district poses a threat to crops and other infrastructure in Una district.

Ramesh Kumar, a farmer who has his house near Salori rivulet, a tributary of the Swan river, alleged that channelization of a portion of rivulet has been completed while no such work has been undertaken in the remaining portion. Due to channelisation of a portion of rivulet the water now does not spread and flows down into the unchannelised areas. This has increased flood threat to our lands, he said.

The sources available here said that channelization work of Swan River tributaries has almost come to a halt due to the paucity of funds. Major irrigation and flood control projects in Himachal are facing fund crunch as the Union Ministry for Water Resources has imposed a drastic cut in fund allocations.

Highly placed sources told The Tribune that due to paucity of funds the entire work on the Swan channelization project has come to a halt.