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Ambala flooded, Patiala on the edge as Ghaggar, Tangri swell
Teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police, which were already on high alert, carried out evacuations on boats and shifted residents to safer places in Ambala
After heavy rainfall in its catchment areas in the Shivalik region, the Tangri river started overflowing in Ambala Cantonment on Friday morning, breaking an embankment along the route and inundating adjoining residential colonies.
Teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police, which were already on high alert, carried out evacuations on boats and shifted residents to safer places.
Officials said after heavy rain, the river received over 30,000 cusecs of water and was flowing at almost double of its danger mark of 15,400 cusecs.
Deputy commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar visited the area to take stock of the situation and said, “Due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh and Morni area of Panchkula overnight, about 20,000 cusecs of water was recorded at Barwala around 8 am after which an alert was issued to the teams concerned.”
He said that the civic body was instructed to start installing pumps to drain out water in the low-lying areas and as a precautionary measure, some nearby schools were closed.
Tomar further said the water started receding from peak level of 38,000 cusecs at 7 pm to 34,000 cusecs. “Water in the residential areas will drain out by morning. Shelter has been provided to people at dharamshalas and arrangements for food and water have been made,” he added.
Haryana energy minister Anil Vij also inspected the river site and adjoining colonies on both sides of the river, while giving instructions to the district administration.
Meanwhile, water levels also crossed 50,000 cusecs in Markanda river in Mullana town of Ambala district, surpassing the danger level of 40,000 cusecs.
Patiala on high alert
Patiala district in Punjab also remains on high alert after the water level in the Ghaggar and Tangri rivers rose sharply on Friday evening.
According to the drainage department, the Ghaggar was flowing at 12 feet in the district, just four feet below the critical danger level of 16 feet. Water level in Tangri river stood at 8.7 feet, three feet below the danger mark of 12 feet.
Consequently, around 35 villages in Patiala district’s three sub-divisions — Rajpura, Dudhan Sadhan and Patiala — have been put on high alert, leaving villagers living along the rivers on the tenterhooks.
Deputy commissioner Dr Preeti Yadav, however, assured that the situation was under control and there was no cause for panic. She said the administration was monitoring the rivers’ flow closely and had already issued an alert on Friday morning based on upstream water levels in Chandigarh and Bhankarpur. In view of the possibility of rising water levels in the rivers, the drainage department and all other departments concerned, along with the district administration, were fully alert, she added.
District officials have attributed the rise in water level in the Ghaggar river here to heavy rainfall in upstream areas and the opening of floodgates of Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake, which led to an abrupt spike in the water level on Friday morning.
As to Tangri, it was because of heavy rainfall in the upstream areas of Ambala in Haryana and Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh.
Patiala deputy commissioner said, “The water level is likely to rise slightly till late at night but will start receding thereafter, as the level in the catchment area had already decreased. We are keeping strict vigil on water flow of rivers and the situation is fully under control.”
