ANANTNAG: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Abdul Haq Khan Saturday called for restoration of river Jhelum to its original width and also directed the authorities to expedite the work of removing the encroachment from the river. The minister directed the concerned departments to remove the plantation and other encroachments from Jhelum at earliest.
Khan along with Member of Parliament Nazir Ahmad Laway, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Muneer-ul-Islam and Director School Education Shah Faesal inspected the river at Sangam and Padshahi Bridge Bijbehara. The Ministers inspected the sites and took stock of the flood protection measures taken up by district administration for saving the area from any flood threat in future and restoring the river to its original size by removing encroachments.
While taking stock of the de-silting work at Sangam, the Minister directed the authorities to expedite the work on de-slitting and removal of encroachments. He said the court has also directed the state government to ensure that no illegal construction is allowed on the river banks and the existing illegal structures are removed.