Chandigarh, July 10- Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal today held an emergency meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners through video conferencing to take stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in the state.

Giving directions, he said that the DCs should keep a close vigil on every situation, along with timely drainage of water and smooth traffic movement should be ensured so that the citizens should not face any kind of problem.

“Apart from making adequate arrangements to tackle any situation, timely delivery of food packets in the waterlogged areas should also be ensured,” directed Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister also gave special directions to the Deputy Commissioners of Ambala, Panchkula, and Yamunanagar districts that they should ensure that no one goes near the rivers.

“The water level of Yamuna, Ghaggar and other small rivers is increasing continuously and hitting the danger mark, because of continuous rains in Himachal Pradesh. Therefore quick evacuation arrangements should be made to ensure that people living in the low-lying areas are timely vacated,” directed Sh. Manohar Lal.

Directing the DCs regarding the increasing water levels in the Narwana branch and SYL, the Chief Minister said they should keep a close watch on the situation in their respective districts. If any area is flooded, adequate arrangements should be made to rescue people as well as deliver food packets to the people. He further directed that soil should be filled in sacks and kept ready so that if there is any breach in any river or drain, it can be controlled immediately.

While directing the Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra, Sh. Manohar Lal said that landslides have been reported from some areas on the Pehowa-Ambala road, hence a close vigil should also be kept on the same and arrangements should be made to prevent soil erosion, said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also directed the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner to solve the problems faced by the people after a bridge in the Mandawala bridge, located about 5 km from Baddi, collapsed. He further directed the DC to coordinate with the Himachal authorities to arrange another route.

The water coming from North Haryana should be shifted to South Haryana so that flood situation does not arise in the districts of North Haryana.

The Chief Minister directed that the natural and artificial drains flowing to the districts of South Haryana should be cleared for proper drainage of water. Apart from this, in the areas of South Haryana where water supply is ensured through the lifting system, there also the water should be supplied by diverting the rainwater drained from North Haryana. This will not only ensure the availability of water throughout the year in these areas but will also play a key step to avoid flood situation in North Haryana, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

He also directed the officers of the Town and Country Planning and Urban Local Bodies Department to pay special attention to the planning of drainage of water for future urbanization.

The Chief Minister further directed that SOP should be prepared for cleaning, repair and maintenance of drains. Monitoring of all the drains 3 months before the rainy season should be done so that if there is any shortage, it can be fixed, said Sh. Manohar Lal.

Rivers in spate in Ambala district, people should avoid going near the river

In the meeting, the Ambala Deputy Commissioner apprised the Chief Minister that in the last 3 days so far 493 mm of rain has been received, due to which the water level in the rivers has drastically increased. The water level of the Ghaggar is 16,500 cusecs, while at present it has increased to 21,000 cusecs.

Similarly, the water level of the Tangri River has also increased to 21000 cusecs from its natural level of 13000 cusecs. Apart from this, the water level of the Markanda River in the safe zone is 50,000 cusecs and it is expected to increase in the coming days. If rains continue to lash the state, then the possibility of backflow in the Ambala drain will be high, due to which there is a possibility of water-logging in the city. However adequate arrangements have been made by the administration, shared DC Ambala.

He further shared that rescuing people from low-lying areas has started and food arrangements have also been made. An announcement has been made in the villages that people should not go near the rivers. The district administration is ready for every situation. Army contingent has also been deployed at the Narwana branch.

In the meeting, Chairman, Power DISCOMS, Sh. PK Das informed that there is no electricity in some areas of Ambala City and Ambala Cantt, directions have been given to the concerned authorities to supply electricity to these areas from other sources.

Ghaggar River has touched the danger mark, low lying areas have been evacuated

The Panchkula Deputy Commissioner apprised the Chief Minister that the Panchkula district has received many more rains than average. The areas adjacent to the Ghaggar River have been evacuated. The Ghaggar has already touched the danger mark. In Yamunanagar also, in view of the increasing water level of the Yamuna River, the process of evacuating the areas has been implemented. The district administration is ready to deal with any situation. All are monitoring the situation with SDRF and NDRF teams, shared the DC.

Similarly, the Kurukshetra, Deputy Commissioner apprised the Chief Minister that in the year 1978, the water level in the Markanda River was recorded at 256.4 meters, while at present the water level is at 255 meters. In view of the possibility of more rain, the low-lying areas have been evacuated.

Chief Secretary, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. DS Dhesi, Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Sh. Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Sh. TVSN Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Sh. Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, Sh. Anil Malik, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Dr. G. Anupama, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department, Sh. AK Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. V Umashankar, Director General of Police, Sh. PK Agrawal, ADGP CID, Sh. Alok Mittal and other senior officers also remained present on this occasion.