Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh, said that the revival of the Ujh River Multipurpose Project in Kathua district would benefit Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir in many ways, including curbing cross-border infiltration.
He said after the completion of the project, it would enhance utilisation of waters of Eastern Rivers like Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, allotted to India as per the Indus Water Treaty to address chronic water shortages. He said this would facilitate irrigation of nearly 90,000 hectares of agricultural land in Gurdaspur and Pathankot in Punjab and Samba and Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Singh said that at present, the uncontrolled flow of water is causing damage to farmland and BSF establishments during natural disasters like the recent spate of floods in Punjab. At the same time, it is also providing vulnerable entry points for infiltration.
The Minister was speaking to the media during his visit to the flood-hit parts of Pathankot on the second day of his tour to the affected areas.
He visited some affected villages in Pathankot and met the flood victims. He assured that compensation would be provided for damages suffered by their houses and shops.
