Ganga river flows over danger mark
HARIDWAR: Incessant rainfall in the Garhwal region has led to the Ganga river crossing the danger level mark on Saturday in Haridwar.
Personnel of the State Disaster Response Force, police, district disaster management and Jal Police have been directed to keep a tab on the situation.
At the Central Hydro Observatory, Neel Dhara Ganga passed the warning level of 292 metres at noon on Saturday and was flowing past the danger mark of 294.20 metres in the evening.
Around 375,000 cusecs of water flow was measured at Chaudhary Charan Singh Bhimgoda Barrage, 1 km from Har-Ki-Pauri, in the morning as per the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation department that manages the Ganga Canal flow and barrages in Haridwar.
“Water level is quite high in the Ganga and we are keeping tabs on the level round the clock. After the 2013 flood, water level has touched this mark. Ganga Canal has been closed owing to the accumulation of silt and all the gates of Bhimgoda barrage have been opened. Concerned officials are round the clock monitoring the situation,” said V K Mishra, the superintendent engineer,
Uttar Pradesh department.
Owing to the heavy rainfall, an alert has been sounded in and around the Ganga ghats and flood-prone residential areas on Ganga riverbed. Seers, villagers, slum dwellers and people residing near the banks of Ganga have been alerted and arrangements are being made to shift them in case rain lashes the region further.
The local administration has sounded alert, cautioning people irrigation not to go near the Ganga riverbed and its sub-tributaries with flood control check posts operating round the clock.
Twenty people were rescued from the lower reaches of Laksar, a flood-prone area, at Jaspur village as village residential area and agricultural fields got inundated with water.
Two youths, who had gone to the other side of the Ganga river while grazing animals at Shyampur area, were rescued by police as they got stuck midway owing to the sudden rise in Ganga water level.
“Through rafts, SDRF Rishikesh team rescued the two youths from Shyampur. Both Haridwar and Rishikesh police jointly carried out the rescue operation are monitoring the situation closely,” said SHO Shyampur Anil Chauhan.
In Rishikesh, the Ganga was flowing at danger level mark in Triveni, Parmarth Niketan, Sai and Nau ghats.