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Haryana: Man dies after drowning in flooded field in Kurukshetra
Reports suggest that Kumar, who was a farmer, had gone near the fields that have turned into ponds due to heavy waterlogging and drowned after he dived into it to have a bath.
An 18-year-old man identified as Arun Kumar, a resident of Chanalkheri village, died due to drowning near Bibipur village in Kurukshetra, reports said.
Reports suggest that Kumar, who was a farmer, had gone near the fields that have turned into ponds due to heavy waterlogging and drowned after he dived into it to have a bath.
Several locals gathered, who informed the police and administration, after which a rescue operation was started. His body was fished-out after a rescue operation by the team of diver Pargat Singh.
This is the third death reported in Kurukshetra due to rain-related incidents. Earlier, two brothers had died after a roof collapsed in Shahabad.
Water in Markanda river near Kurukshetra receded by 0.10 metres to 256.30 (6 pm) on Friday, but still flowing above the danger level of 256 metre. Several villages of Shahabad and Pehowa have remained waterlogged for the last three days.
Deputy commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena said that a plan will be prepared to provide relief to dozens of villages of Shahbad and Pehowa sub-divisions from the problem of waterlogging of Markanda every year.
“To prepare the blueprint of this plan, first of all the affected areas of Pehowa and Shahbad have been surveyed through drone. Now as per the orders of chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, discussions will be held with the revenue and irrigation departments as well as other concerned departments regarding the drone survey and a draft of the plan will be prepared,” he added.
In Ambala, the situation was back to normal and the water level of the rivers – Markanda, Tangri and Ghaggar was much below the danger level.
However, residents were facing waterlogging as well as sludge at several areas of Ambala city, Ambala Cantt and Mullana.
The industrial area at Ambala Cantt, also inundated under at least six feet of water from overflowing Tangri, saw a reduction in the water level which was coming down after natural drainage and with the help of pump sets.
DC Ajay Tomar said that the e-Kshatipurti portal opened for Ambala on Friday and farmers could submit their claims of Kharif crop damage till September 10.
He said that zila parishad CEO and DRO have been instructed to jointly prepare a report of the damage caused in cities and rural areas.
Hathnikund barrage floodgates lowered as Yamuna levels back to normal
Four days after inundating areas from Yamunanagar of Haryana till Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, the levels in Yamuna were back to normal at Hathnikund barrage prompting the authorities to partially close 18 floodgates on Friday.
As of 5 pm on Friday, the water level at the barrage was recorded at 52,961 cusecs, much below the ‘low flood’ mark of 70,000 cusecs.
The authorities at the barrage pulled down the flood gates around noon when the level came below 1 lakh cusecs, confirmed Yamunanagar irrigation and water resources department superintendent engineer RS Mittal.
He said that now, as per the norms, the water is being diverted as per the requirement to Karnal via Western Jamuna Canal (WJC) and Saharanpur via Eastern Jamuna Canal (EJC).
The water level at the barrage rose to over 3.40 lakh cusecs, the highest this monsoon, on Monday amid heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, prompting “high flood” alerts for Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
The gates were opened at 4 am on Monday, when the water flow was recorded at 1.65 lakh cusecs.
