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Work on dam near Hathnikund to start soon: Yamunanagar DC to guv
Officials said the dam near Hathnikund will cost ₹7,000 crore and letters have been written to neighbouring states in this regard.
Days after heavy rain wreaked havoc in the region, Yamunanagar deputy commissioner Rahul Hooda told Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya that work on developing a dam worth ₹7,000 crore to store Yamuna Water near Hathnikund Barrage is set to begin soon.
The governor, who was in town to attend a Teej function, on Friday also visited the barrage.
As per a statement, when the governor asked the DC on how the water going towards New Delhi is being managed, he explained how rain water from the mountains comes to Hathnikund.
Here, when the water level goes above 1 lakh cusecs, the supply to Western Jamuna Canal (WJC) and Eastern Jamuna Canal (EJC) is stopped, while the water flows through Yamuna, thus leading to flooding in Delhi, the DC said.
“To prevent future flooding in Haryana and Delhi, the state government is planning to construct a dam four kilometres behind the barrage, on which work will begin shortly. A preliminary report has been sent to Central Waters Commission (CWC). Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has already approved this project,” Hooda added.
Officials said the project will cost ₹7,000 crore and letters have been written to neighbouring states in this regard.
RS Mittal, superintendent engineer, irrigation department, said the dam also comes in the Himachal Pradesh region and will be constructed jointly by Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan. The barrage was in the eye of the storm recently, with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleging excess release of water, leading to flooding in Delhi. Haryana, however, refuted the allegation, claiming that it was only a barrage and not a dam, and it could not hold excess water after rain.
However, last week, Khattar suspended a chief engineer of irrigation department for negligence during recent floods in Delhi and a chargesheet was issued against three senior engineers.
