Yamuna flowing at alarming level in Haryana, two killed

CHANDIGARH - The Yamuna river continued to flow close to the danger mark in Haryana, flooding over 120 villages of Panipat and Yamunanagar districts and killing two youngsters, an official said here Saturday.

Fifteen-year-old Rohit and Sunil, 20, were killed after they were swept away in the overflowing Yamuna in Sanauli village in Panipat district Friday, an official said.

“Over 100 villages of Yamunanagar district and 20 villages of Panipat district have been badly affected by the floods. Several houses have been damaged and hundreds have been shifted to safe locations,” said the spokesperson of the Haryana government here.

“Packed food and drinking water has been provided to the victims,” he added.

Flood water has also affected scores of villages in Karnal, Faridabad, Sonepat, Bhiwani and Jhajjar districts of Haryana.

“We are working to plug the two breaches that had emerged near the embankment of the Yamuna Friday. Our administration is continuously monitoring the situation,” Panipat Deputy commissioner J.S. Ahlawat told IANS.

He said that the Yamuna water has started receding since Friday evening.

Over one lakh cusecs of water was released from Hathni Kund barrage in Yamunananagr district into the Yamuna river Friday.

The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) released over 10,000 cusecs of water into the Satluj river Saturday to maintain the maximum level of 1,680 feet in the Bhakra Dam reservoir.

Water level at the Bhakra Dam had reached 1,680.30 feet Friday and the inflow was around 40,000 cusecs.

Release of water in the Satluj river posed flood threat to the low-lying areas of Ropar, Ludhiana, Ferozepur and Jalandhar districts and the Sikh holy towns of Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib.

The Bharka Dam itself is located in Himachal Pradesh, along the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border, 130 km from Chandigarh.

In July, nearly a dozen villages of Punjab and Haryana were severely affected by floods. Over 50 people were killed.