Patna remains on tenterhooks despite lifting of Farakka gates

PATNA: The rampaging Ganga may be under control, but the crisis in Patna is far from over with chances of its flooding floating on Monday as the river continued to flow over the danger mark.

Nine gates of the Farakka barrage across the Ganga in West Bengal were half lifted on Monday to facilitate the smooth flow of the river. This was in addition to 100 gates already opened on Saturday.

“The situation remained critical despite the lifting of over 100 gates of the Farakka barrage that succeeded in bringing down the level of the Ganga by just a metre in the last 24 hours. On Monday, the river was flowing around 1.6 metre above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat,” said a top official. “The Ganga is on a downward trend today but it is bound to swell in the next 48 hours, when it will receive 38,2230 cusec water released by the Indrapuri barrage,” said another official in Patna. HTC