Chandigarh, July 13,2023: As per media reports ‘The Punjab government on Wednesday blamed Haryana for waterlogging in villages of Patiala and Sangrur districts with state information and public relations minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra saying had the neighbouring state didn’t clean the siphon built on the Ghaggar under Hansi-Butana canal on time. Siphon is a structure in which the canal is taken below the drainage and the water flows under symphonic action and there is no presence of atmospheric pressure in the canal.’
According to the news published in HindustanTimes the villages towards Punjab along with the toe wall of Hansi-Butana canal has been marooned since Monday when the water level in the Ghaggar and Badi Nadi rose leading to flooding of villages. Before the construction of Hansi-Butana canal, the water used to flow towards Haryana.
The Hansi-Butana canal, which is 20 feet high is acting like a wall and has stopped the flow of water from Punjab to Haryana. Only one siphon has been made for the flow of water which is also partially choked due to silt, said officials familiar with the matter.
The situation in Hashampur Mangat, Sassa Gugran, Nayagaon villages of Patiala is alarming. Water has entered houses and people are running to safer places. The Hansi-Butana canal built by Haryana is to blame for the flooding as it acts as a dam. The canal passes over the Ghaggar and only a few passes (siphons) have been made to drain out the water, said officials.
The Hansi-Butana canal blocks the natural flow of the Ghaggar and Tangri rivers. “A concrete toe wall will further block the water that will ultimately be pushed back towards Patiala and Sangrur districts,” said a Punjab irrigation department official. He said Punjab had requested Haryana to clear the siphons, but no avail.
Jauramajra bemoaned that Haryana government has failed to clean the siphon built upon Ghaggar under Hansi-Butana canal on time, which resulted in massive waterlogging in villages of our side of Punjab.
During his visit to flood-affected villages, the minister said the Haryana government should have cleaned the siphon well in advance, adding that if the siphon had been cleaned in time, this situation could be averted.
Jauramajra said that he has asked Patiala deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney to raise the issue with her Kaithal counterpart.
After listening to the problems of the villagers, the minister instructed the officials of the district administration to immediately send boats and other necessary relief materials in these villages. He urged the villagers to adhere to the appeal of the district administration to go to safe places, saying that arrangements of stay at Gurdwara Karhali Sahib have been made and more relief materials are being delivered
Meanwhile, nearly 200 villages in Patiala are still flooded due to rise in water levels of Ghaggar, Badi Nadi and Tangri rivers. The worst-it villages are near the Hansi-Butana canal.
Thousands of acres of agricultural land has been submerged causing loss to crops and property in Sanaur, Ghanaur, Rajpura and Samana constituencies.
“The water level is rising and we have appealed the public to move to safer places. I have appealed villagers to take help from the NDRF and army to move out, said Patiala DC Sakshi
