Rajasthan district floods canal to check migrant flow

JAIPUR: Sri Ganganangar district authorities’ move of releasing water in the abandoned Gang Link Canal to stop migration from Punjab and Haryana from the beginning of lockdown prevented even a single Covid case in the district till May 20. Over the next 24 days, the disgtrict registered 19 positive cases till date which includes 17 migrants (16 from Delhi and two from Mumbai).
The unusual step of releasing water was taken after hundreds of migrants started entering the state from Punjab and Haryana via the abandoned canal having a length of 76 km. The lockdown in March prompted the migrants to turn to the abandoned canal until water was released in the first week of April. Even migrants from Delhi chose the route to reach districts like Bikaner, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Jodhpur.
“The link canal was being conveniently used by migrants entering the state via Sri Ganganagar. They were coming on bicycles, scooters and even on four-wheelers. It was causing a big worry for the administration as the borders were sealed, but the canal was being used as an effective travel route, making the lockdown ineffective,” said Shiv Prasad Madan Nakate, Ganganagar collector.
The administration tried to field police to guard the canal, but it turned out to be ineffective. Nakate suggested the idea to fill a stretch of around 8 km along the border with water by his office to prevent movement. “Hadn’t we released water, we would have ended up deploying hundreds of police personnel and other logistics to check them. The effort had prevented our human resource which we had utilised in monitoring our border,” said Nakate.
The administration convinced the state for such an unusual move by stating that those entering from the canal are neither getting registered nor screened making the state and the district vulnerable to the virus. Since the state government has regulated the entry of vehicles and people on the interstate border for seven days, the local administration is rest assured that no movement will take place via the link canal
“The authorities directed us to fill the 8 km area with water in the first week of April. We released 450 cusecs which was sufficient to fill the stretch, making it impossible for any movement unless a boat was used,” said Pradeep Rustogi, executive engineer, water resources, Sri Ganganagar. The water was drawn from Gang Canal.
The link canal was abandoned 16 years ago by the district authorities as it lived its purpose. The authorities have noticed that area around the stretch has turned into a green zone with the presence of fauna back after decades.