Punjab: Ghaggar swells, inundates fields in Patiala

With more rain in the catchment areas, the river is very likely to swell, officials said. Since Monday morning, the water level in the Ghaggar in Patiala has risen by 4 feet

Heavy rains in catchment areas and the release of water from Sukhna Lake see the seasonal river rise by 3 ft

Ghaggar in spate in Sangrur after heavy rains on Monday. (HT Photo)

Following continuous rainfall in the catchment areas and the opening of Sukhna Lake floodgates, the Ghaggar swelled and inundated fields in the villages of Ghanaur and Rajpura blocks of Patiala district. Sangrur, downstream of the river, has also been put on flood alert.

With more rain in the catchment areas, the river is very likely to swell, officials said. Since Monday morning, the water level in the Ghaggar in Patiala has risen by 4 feet, and currently, it is flowing 13 feet, just 3ft below the danger mark.

The Ghaggar is largely fed by rain in the hills and breaks banks every monsoon, wreaking havoc downstream in Punjab.

The river, often referred to as Malwa’s “river of sorrow” due to its repeated flooding and devastation, remains almost dry for most of the year. But during the monsoon, it inundates fields and villages in Mohali, Patiala, Sangrur, and Mansa.

The Patiala district administration said that they would get a 10 to 12-hour window before the rising water reaches Patiala. “In the wake of more rainfall in catchment areas and the opening of floodgates of Sukhna lake, on Sunday, Patiala district is on alert,” officials said.

The floodwater has already entered the fields and damaged the standing crops, with the worst-affected villages being Untsar, Kami Khurd, Lachru Kalan, Chamaru, Jhand Mangoli, and Sarala Khurd.

Amandeep Singh, a resident of Untsar village, said, “The water has entered our paddy fields. We demand that the government give us compensation at the earliest.”

So far, 1450 acres of agricultural land have already been affected in the district because of floods, say the officials.

“We have already sounded an alert in Patiala. Our teams are on the ground checking water levels at critical points throughout the day. We appeal to people to remain vigilant and avoid going near the river for the next 24 hours,” Patiala DC Preeti Yadav said.

Meanwhile, in Sangrur, the water level was recorded at 746.9 feet on Monday evening, just 1.1 feet below the danger level. This has raised anxiety among farmers.

Gurdeep Singh, a farmer from Makror village, said, “Our village has around 4,200 acres of farmland, and we’re worried that if the situation takes a turn for the worse, a large portion of our land will be submerged,” he said.

“The fear is real as the water level is increasing by one inch every hour, with a total increase of 14 inches in the last 14 hours,” Water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal said, adding, “We are well-prepared to deal with the circumstances.”