Kullu: Beas channeling is still on fire
In order to minimize damage from recurring floods, Kullu residents have urged that the planned channeling of the Beas and its tributaries be hastened. They believe that if the Beas and its tributaries had been channeled, the devastation inflicted by the flash floods in July of last year would have been far less. Flash floods last year destroyed sections of the freshly built national highway, bridges, and footbridges.
River channeling is the process of deepening and straightening a river’s channel to facilitate safer and easier river movement. For the last 20 years or more, the plan to channel the Beas along a 70-kilometer length from Palchan, close to Manali, to Aut in the Mandi district has languished since the state and federal administrations have not made any progress on the project.
“The damage caused by flash floods in July last year would have been much less had the channeling of the Beas been done,” states Sushil, a senior engineer from Bajaura. According to Gagan, a Kullu local, “the Beas channeling will prevent encroachments on riverbanks and curtail illegal mining.”
On July 18, 2023, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that he would bring up the issue of the Beas channeling with the Central Government during a visit to assess the flood situation.
Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Sunder Singh Thakur announced on March 15 of this year that 24 detailed project reports of the channeling of rivers and embankment protection work worth Rs 188 crore in the Kullu Assembly constituency had been sent to the State Disaster Mitigation Authority.
This was after laying the foundation for the embankment protection work of the 195-m stretch from the Gau Sadan to the sewage treatment plant in the Lanka Baker area of Kullu town. He had said that out of them, six projects totaling Rs 38 crore had been authorized and funding provided. Nonetheless, it is expected that the Beas channeling from Palchan to Aut would cost a total of around Rs 1,669 crore.
According to Arun Sharma, the Kullu Jal Shakti Executive Engineer (XEN), the Central Water Commission (CWC) received a detailed project report (DPR) last year, but it was returned with some remarks. The Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) was consulted about the issue and requested further information in order to update the DPR. Within ten to fifteen days, the data will be ready and sent to the CWPRS, he continues.
These days, damage from floods in the Beas River and its tributaries occurs almost yearly. In the Beas, there have been significant floods in 1971, 1988, 1995, 2018, and 2023.
