Freshly laid concrete lining at Rajasthan Feeder washed away

Bathinda: A wide portion of the newly relined Rajasthan Feeder Canal was washed away near Fidde village in Faridkot district on Friday, days after water was released on the stretch. However, as earthwork behind the concrete lining was intact, water did not flow out of the canal. The concrete relining was suspected to have been washed away due to seepage between the slabs. "A major portion of the canal was relined a long time ago, but relining in the remaining nearly 12-kilometre area was completed only a few days ago," said a source.The Punjab water resources department has pressed workforce to save any probable water loss, but farmers are raising questions over quality of the construction work."Over 100-feet portion was washed away after water was released. It points towards the quality of construction, which needs to be fairly investigated. If any breach had occurred, it could have inundated the fields," said farmers Karnail Singh and Mohinder Singh.Rajasthan Feeder, which runs parallel to Sirhind Feeder Canal, originates from Harike headworks, which has a total length of 204 kilometres, with 151 kilometres in Punjab territory. It was constructed with a capacity of 18,500 cusecs, but over the years, its carrying capacity had reduced to as low as little over 15,000 cusecs. The Union Govt had approved the relining in Sept 2018. Major construction work was completed a long back, and approximately 12 km of relining work, which was pending, was completed now.Following demands from local farmers and residents to facilitate groundwater recharge, the stretch in Faridkot district was brick-lined at the bed.Punjab water resources department principal secretary Krishan Kumar did not respond to calls and text messages. An executive engineer-level officer, not wanting to be named, said that "it is expected that water seeped through joint of old relining and new relining." "The department immediately put workers and machinery in service, and water continued to flow as sandbags were placed at the spot where concrete lining washed away," he added. MSID:: 131153565 413 |