Chandigarh: Sukhna floodgate opened for 11th time this season

The UT engineering department has deployed officials at the regulatory end of the lake on a 24x7 basis and CCTV cameras have also been installed to regularly monitor the water level of the lake

For the first time in its history, one of the three floodgates of the Sukhna Lake was opened for a record 11th time in a season, as the water level crossed the danger mark of 1,163-ft on Thursday due to rain in the catchment area.

The city recorded 21.1 mm rain on Thursday, with 5.8 mm logged till 8:30 am. MeT officials said there are chances of light rain on Friday too though it will stop from Saturday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

The excess water was released into the Ghaggar river through Sukhna Choe.

According to officials, the floodgate was opened around 4am and closed around 12.30 pm, when the water level dropped to nearly 1,162. 95-ft.

Earlier, the floodgates were opened on September 6, 3, and 1, and on August 30, 29, 19, 17, 15, 8 and 6.

The UT engineering department has deployed officials at the regulatory end of the lake on a 24x7 basis and CCTV cameras have also been installed to regularly monitor the water level of the lake.

In the past, floodgates were opened four times in 2023, six times in 2022, and five times in 2021. Opening of two floodgates in August 2020 caused widespread flooding in the low-lying areas of Zirakpur situated alongside the Sukhna Choe. On September 24, 2018, the floodgates were opened after a gap of 10 years.