E-Paper
Damage to Herbal Park by Ghaggar: Panchkula admn seeks help from Irrigation Research Institute
Although the river’s water level has receded, the diversion of water near Sector 24 has led to soil erosion and seepage; as a result, the river is flowing merely 20 metres from the road next to the park
After substantial part of Herbal Park in Sector 26 was washed away in the swollen Ghaggar river, the Panchkula administration has turned to the Irrigation Research Institute in Roorkee, that had designed the park, for assistance.
Although the river’s water level has receded, the diversion of water near Sector 24 has led to soil erosion and seepage. As a result, the river is flowing merely 20 metres from the road next to the park.
On Friday, Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta visited the damaged park to assess land erosion following incessant rains over last weekend.
Gupta said the officers had been directed take immediate action to rectify the situation and prevent further erosion: “Around 10 small and large bridges have been destroyed, and the Herbal Park, which is a lifeline of the trans Ghaggar sectors, has also suffered extensive damage.”
He appealed to the public to maintain a safe distance from the park until the restoration process was completed to avoid any unfortunate incidents.
MC begins repair of potholes, drains
The Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) has started the work of repairing potholes on roads as well as drains that were damaged amid the heavy rains last week.
MC commissioner Sachin Gupta said the patch work by filling the potholes will be completed in next 10 days, adding that clogged drains were also being cleaned to prevent waterlogging.
Gupta said MC teams had started work on category A roads from the Sector 7/18 Chowk and will gradually move to other areas as well.
11 feet water still standing in Kharar society’s basement
Mohali Mohali deputy commissioner Aashika Jain visited the flood-affected areas of Kharar sub-division to Friday.
Sharing details, Jain said around 11 feet of water was accumulated in the basement of World One Society, Kharar. Work to drain out the water will be completed by Saturday, as two government and two private pumps and one fire tender had been engaged for the work, she said.
A ramp had also been constructed outside the society to prevent more water from entering the complex. Along with this, the work to enhance the inflow capacity of the drainage channel of the adjoining national highway was also under process.
She said drainage of water from the basement of Ansal API had been completed. Due to water inundation, the electrical panels got soaked and were being dried.
The DC also visited Ward No 11, Siswan Chowk in Kurali and Badi Nadi at Siswan, where she directed GMADA to remove illegal encroachments. Besides, the officer also assured to give due compensation to people whose houses have collapsed due to floods.
She was accompanied by additional deputy commissioner (Urban Development) Damanjit Singh Mann, Kharar SDM Ravinder Singh, executive officer Bhupinder Singh and officers from various departments.
Hayer visits Dera Bassi areas affected by Ghaggar
Punjab water resources minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer visited Tiwana and Amalala villages in Dera Bassi that have been affected by the swollen Ghaggar river. Hayer and Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa examined work to plug breaches in the river. They also took stock of the damage to crops and bridge at Amalala.
Punjab health and family welfare minister Dr Balbir Singh also reviewed arrangements being made at the government health facilities of Mohali district to help flood-affected people.
He also held a meeting with representatives of the Indian Medical Association, private hospitals, NGOs and senior citizen associations to seek their cooperation in this difficult time.
Standing panel on environment reviews damages in Chandigarh
Chandigarh The UT standing committee on environment on Thursday held a special meeting to assess the damages caused due to the incessant rains, at the Paryavaran Bhawan in Sector 19.
Chaired by committee chairperson Satnam Singh Sandhu, the meeting was attended by the officials of the forest department, environment department, municipal corporation and engineering wing of the UT administration. Sandhu, who is also a member of the UT advisory council, along with other officials visited several rain-affected areas to assess the situation and oversee the ongoing maintenance work.
The officials visited Shastri Nagar in Manimajra, Kishangarh village and Sukhna Lake regulatory dam and interacted with affected residents. The chairperson instructed the officials to address residents’ issues swiftly and provide all required assistance to restore normalcy.
