Patiala admin sounds flood alert in over a dozen villages along Ghaggar river

The Patiala administration on Tuesday sounded a flood alert, asking residents of over a dozen villages situated along the Ghaggar to stay vigilant as the water level in the seasonal river touched the danger mark following heavy rainfall in the areas fed by it. According to the district administration, the “water level in the Ghaggar river will rise in the next 10 to 12 hours due to heavy rainfall in the upstream” areas of Chandigarh and Derabassi. “The level had risen abruptly to 8 ft in the Chandigarh region,” read the late evening orders.

“Based on the current situation, Ghaggar at Sarala is expected to rise further to 14 to 15 ft in the next 12 hours. An alert advisory is requested to be issued based on Bhankarpur-Chandigarh levels in the towns of Ghanaur and Sanour,” read the advisory issued to the SDMs in these two towns. Meanwhile, villages put on high alert are Untsar, Nanherhi, Sanjarpur, Lacchru, Kamalpur, Rampur, Saunta, Marhu, Chamaru, Bhasmara, Jalahkheri, Haddana, Pur, and Sirkapra in Sanour, Ghanaur, and Rajpura subdivisions of the district.

Residents have been asked not to venture near the Ghaggar and to inform the district flood control room in case of any emergency related to the water level, said officials. The river Ghaggar originates in Himachal Pradesh and runs a course of 165 km through Punjab, entering the state at Mohali’s Mubarikpur village, where it caused some losses today.

‘Situation under control’

Patiala Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav appealed to people to remain calm and not to “spread rumours” while maintaining that the situation was “under control”. She advised them to promptly report any water-related emergency to the district control room at 0175-2350550. A senior Irrigation Department official too said as of now, there was “no need to panic”.

“Officials are keeping an eye on the situation as the water flow due to rains in the hills needs monitoring,” he added. The rain-fed river on multiple occasions in the past had wreaked havoc in Patiala villages.

In July 2019 too, vast swathes of land in Sanaur subdivison’s Sirkapra, Bolar Kalan, Bossar, Asarpur, Jogipur and Rathian villages had submerged in the river water.

In 2023, several villages in Sanaur, such as Malakpur, Batti, Batta and Rathiyan, were cut-off from other areas as an overbridge over the river developed cracks after Irrigation Department allegedly failed to complete its repair on time.