The tricity of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali were on Friday put on flood alert following a sharp rise in the water level of the Ghaggar river and the opening of floodgates at Sukhna Lake after heavy overnight rainfall across the region, officials said.
Two of the three Sukhna Lake floodgates were opened on Friday morning, one at 3.30am and the second at 4am, as the water level breached the danger mark of 1,163 feet. This is the sixth time this monsoon that floodgates of the lake have been opened due to the rising water level. The UT engineering department staff at the lake has been keeping a round-the-clock vigil with CCTV surveillance and a dedicated control room that coordinates with authorities in adjoining Mohali and Panchkula districts.
Due to heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh, the Ghaggar river that flows through Panchkula before entering Punjab at Mohali’s Mubarikpur village is in spate. The nine villages of Tiwana, Khajoor Mandi, Sadhanpur, Sarsini, Alamgir, Dangdhera, Mubarikpur, Mirpur, and Bakarpur in Dera Bassi subdivision of Mohali district were put on high alert after the discharge in the Ghaggar river crossed 70,000 cusecs on Friday morning.
Dera Bassi sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Amit Kumar said that police, drainage, and revenue department teams had been monitoring the situation in the affected areas.
{{/usCountry}}Dera Bassi sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Amit Kumar said that police, drainage, and revenue department teams had been monitoring the situation in the affected areas.
{{/usCountry}}Mohali deputy commissioner Komal Mittal visited Tiwana village to assess the situation on the ground.
In Zirakpur, water from the Sukhna choe overflowed on the Baltana bridge, while the Mubarikpur causeway was also flooded.
Heavy overnight rainfall led to a bridge at Khatouli village near Barwala collapsing after the heavy flow of water eroded the soil underneath.
The edge of a stretch of National Highway 7 in Sector 26 adjoining the Ghaggar river caved in after the rain.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that monsoon activity will continue over Punjab and Haryana for the next three to four days, with heavy rainfall expected in several districts that are already reeling under excess showers.
IMD, Chandigarh, head Surender Paul said that the current weather systems indicate widespread rainfall in north and west Punjab as well as north and south Haryana, with conditions likely to persist until September 2.
Several districts, including Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Sangrur, Mansa and Moga, have recorded rainfall far above normal this monsoon season. Between August 25 and 27 alone, these regions experienced nearly eight to nine times the average rainfall, exacerbating the flood-like situation in low-lying areas.
The wet spell is likely to continue over Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Rupnagar, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, and Fazilka in in Punjab, as well as the adjoining districts of Haryana.
Paul added that rainfall activity is expected to gradually decline after September 2, but another spell of monsoon showers may revive in the second half of September, particularly around September 18 to 20. (With ANI inputs)