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Officials blame Haryana’s Hansi–Butana canal for flooding in Patiala villages
Punjab blames Haryana's Hansi-Butana canal for flooding in Patiala villages, citing blocked Ghaggar river flow as the cause of the crisis.
The Punjab government on Monday blamed Haryana’s Hansi–Butana canal for flooding in border villages of Patiala district. It said the natural water flow of the Ghaggar river and its tributaries was being hindered due to the canal.
After an inspection of the siphons of Hansi-Butana canal, executive engineer (XEN), drainage, Pratham Gambhir and sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Harjot Kaur confirmed that Sassi Brahman, Sassi Gujjran, Dharmehri, Hashampur, Bhawganpur and Sassi Teh villages were among the worst flood-hit areas in the district due to the obstruction of Ghaggar water caused by the Hansi-Butana canal.
“The obstruction created by the canal has aggravated the flood situation in these villages. We are closely monitoring the conditions. Necessary relief measures are being taken,” SDM Kaur said. The said canal falls in the territory of Haryana and has been a bone of contention between the two states since its construction in 2007.
Officials said that before the construction of the canal, the excess floodwaters would naturally flow towards Haryana. However, the siphons — a 20-foot-high embankment-like structure — are acting as a barrier, blocking the outflow of Ghaggar.
According to Punjab government officials, the villages situated along the toe wall of the Hansi–Butana canal were marooned after the rising water levels in the Ghaggar inundated large parts of the area. Successive Punjab governments have maintained that the canal obstructs the flood discharge, forcing waters back into its territory.
“Only one siphon was constructed to allow the Ghaggar water passage, and that too is partially choked with silt, worsening the situation,” said officials familiar with the matter.
Hardeep Singh Cheema, a resident of Dharmheri village, said, “This Hansi-Butana canal, constructed on Ghaggar in Haryana, continues to hamper the free flow of the Ghaggar water, thereby, the water backflow inundating villages on Punjab side.”
He adds that Tangri river merges into Markanda river that further merges into the Ghaggar before this area where the Hansi-Butana canal is constructed. This further aggravates the situation as Ghaggar swells further, and the backflow of water increases.
Pratham Ghambir, executive engineer, drainage department, said seven to eight villages in Patiala on the Punjab and Haryana border were submerged. Though water level in Ghaggar at Bhankharpur in Mohali and Sarala in Patiala plunged, it was very high at the Hassi-Butana canal point because of high discharge of water from Markanda and Tangri into the Ghaggar.
“Siphons on the Hansi-Butana canal have not been de-silted which reduced the capacity of the outflow of Ghaggar waters from Punjab. We had written to the Haryana government before the monsoon season for a proper de-silting of the siphons,” said the XEN.
