Lahore — Removal of settlements from the Ravi riverbed has delayed phase two of a critical flood-protection scheme, raising concerns about the city’s readiness if the monsoon arrives early, officials said. The Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda) says embankment construction for phase-2 cannot begin while both temporary and permanent houses remain inside the riverbed. A Ruda spokesperson told Dawn the authority is prepared to start work as soon as the district administration clears the area, but repeated reminders have failed to resolve the problem.
Ruda’s jurisdiction extends from six kilometres downstream of the Ravi Syphon to the Hudiara drain at Mohlanwal. Phase-1 — a 14.6 km stretch — is almost 80% complete and includes 20-foot-high embankments designed to handle flows up to 350,000 cusecs. Phase-2, a roughly 9 km section between the railway bridge and the M2 bridge, remains stalled because of dense settlements on the riverbed. Some of these communities predate Ruda and retain utility connections and property documents, and Ruda says it lacks the authority to remove them, although it has acted to stop new illegal construction.
Last year’s floods devastated parts of Punjab; in Lahore, flash floods that peaked near 220,000 cusecs inundated riverbed settlements, forcing mass evacuations and leaving many people in temporary relief camps.
Work on phase-3 has begun, with about 20% completed in some stretches and protective measures under way for adjacent neighbourhoods, along with development of a theme park.
Experts warn the flood risk could rise this year. Civil engineer and former Lahore Development Authority chief Habibul Haq Randhawa cautioned that El Niño might bring an early monsoon as soon as May, with intense rainfall into June, and said illegal construction in the riverbed was a major contributor to past flood damage. He urged removal of encroachments to restore the river’s natural channels. (Reported by Dawn/ANI)
