Chandigarh's Sukhna Lake floodgates opened again; record 9th time this monsoon

Following incessant rainfall in the catchment area, the UT Administration opened two of the three floodgates of Sukhna Lake on Wednesday morning after the water level of the lake crossed the danger mark of 1,163 feet.

The excess water of the lake was released into the Ghaggar river through the Sukhna Choe. According to officials, one floodgate was opened around 7:30 am and the second gate was opened around 8 am up to a height of three inches.

Today was the ninth time that floodgates were opened this monsoon season. Earlier, the floodgates were opened on September 1, August 30, 29, 19, 17, 15, 8 and 6.

One of the two floodgates opened on the morning of September 1 was closed around 3 pm, and the other after nearly 21 hours, around 4 am on September 2.

The UT Engineering Department has deployed officials at the regulatory end of the lake on a 24/7 basis, and CCTV cameras have also been installed to regularly monitor the water level of the lake.

A control room has also been established to coordinate with the district administrations of Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula for proper communication during the opening of floodgates.

The officials said that the district administrations of the neighboring districts and the traffic police were alerted before the opening of the floodgates. Floodgates were opened four times in 2023, six times in 2022, and five times in 2021.

The opening of two floodgates in August 2020 caused widespread flooding in the low-lying areas of Zirakpur situated alongside the Sukhna Choe. On September 24, 2018, the floodgates were opened after a gap of 10 years.