Punjab medicos’ union calls for public movement to transfer control of dams to state

Patiala: The Punjab Medicos Union has called for a mass public movement demanding the transfer of control over the Bhakra, Nangal, Pong, and Ranjit Sagar dams to Punjab. The union cited mismanagement of these dams as a major factor behind the state's recurring flood disasters.‘Lok Raj' Punjab, a civil society group, has blamed the recent devastating floods on poor dam management by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), describing them as "man-made" rather than natural. According to the union, the floods were not caused by excessive rainfall but by the sudden release of stored water from the dams — a decision Punjab, as a riparian state, has no control over.In a joint statement, Dr Gurbhagti, general secretary of the Resident Doctors' Association and Punjab Medicos Union, and Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa, former state president of the PCMS association and president of Lok Raj Punjab, demanded the immediate transfer of dam control to Punjab. They emphasised that the state has repeatedly suffered massive losses to crops, livestock, and property due to BBMB's "ruthless and negligent" management.To build public pressure under the ‘Save Punjab' campaign, the union urged residents across Punjab to pass resolutions in gram sabhas of all 13,000 villages, demanding the transfer of dam control to the state. Despite being a riparian state, Punjab remains at the mercy of non-riparian states, leading to repeated and destructive flooding.