Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has chaired a meeting that approved the de-silting drive across the province, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Monday.
The caretaker government is all set to start the desilting drive after a decade. The chief minister approved the desilting of 15,300 miles of canals from December 26.
A committee, consisting of secretaries of irrigation, agriculture and mines, has been established. Irrigation Secretary Wasif Khursheed briefed the meeting about the campaign.
In the first phase, the canals of Mangala Dam will be closed from December 26 to January 13, in the second phase, the canals of Tarbela Dam will be closed from January 13 to January 31, and the cleanliness will commence in the first week of January.
The satellite images will be provided and the data will be posted on the irrigation monitoring app daily, the meeting was told. Police will register cases and take action against water theft. Provincial Minister Aamir Mir, Chairman of P&D and other officials concerned attended the meeting.
Anti-encroachment operation
Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi gave another 24 hours to encroachers to avert action across the province. The anti-encroachment operation should be launched from Wednesday morning, the chief minister said. He said the official will take action indiscriminately as no one is above the law.