soil erosion due to the fast-flowing Ravi river currents has created panic among the farmers in the Makaura Ferri and Bharial Bulge areas of Gurdaspur district in Punjab. As many as 648 hectares of fertile land has been washed away so far. To check soil erosion, the state's drainage department has started construction of two spurs each 200 feet in length on the Ravi near Lasian and four spurs near Mammi Chahranga.
According to M K Sandhu, deputy commissioner of Gurdaspur district, a Rs 2.68-crore plan to check erosion in the area has been approved by the Union government but, so far, the work undertaken is only to the the tune of Rs 1.04 crore.
Sandhu said that large-scale deforestation upstream Ravi is causing such swift currents.
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