Chandigarh, Oct 14 (IANS) Punjab’s Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday announced that the government is serious about protecting the state from floods permanently.

To this end, plans are in place to clean, deepen, and widen the Ravi and Sutlej rivers, which fall under the state’s jurisdiction, while permission has been sought from the Central Government to clean the Beas river, designated as a Ramsar site, he informed.

Speaking to reporters in Dirba, Cheema highlighted the significant losses suffered by Punjab due to floods in 2023 and 2025, emphasising that desilting the rivers is a critical need to ensure long-term flood protection. He said 28 locations along the Beas river requiring urgent cleaning have been identified and urged the Central government to provide maximum su

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