Ministry asks U’khand, UP to recommend ways to increase Ganga’s flow at Shukartal ghat

Ravi S.Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 21

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The Union Water Resources Ministry has asked governments of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to suggest ways to augment flows at Shukartal ghat located along Saloni river.

A tributary of the Ganges, Saloni originates at the upper reaches of Roorkie  (Uttarakhand) and merges with Ganga at Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh.
The river’s flow has gone down over the years, creating problems for local inhabitant and devotees who come to perform rituals on the ghat (located in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh).

Saloni used to receive water from the Ganges through Banganga via Paschim Bhana Nala (both small tributaries of the Ganges in Uttarakhand). An embankment was raised at the mouth of the Paschim Bana Nal near Haridwar several years ago to protect adjoining areas from flooding during the monsoon.

Suggestions made at a meeting of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh last week to discuss the project included construction of controlled structure at Ban Ganga and the Paschim Bhana Nal. Minister of state Sata Pal Singh chaired the meeting.

The ghat is visited by large number of devotees all year round. Among the suggestions was to have water released from Upper Ganga Canal at Dhanuli in Uttarakhand into Saloni, and to dredge it to increase its capacity.

A senior official of Central Water Commission (CWC) said a pre-feasibility study report by inter-departmental team had favoured construction of a grated control structure at Paschim Bana Nala at an estimated cost of about Rs 34 core.