Sukhna Lake level near danger mark
Chandigarh, July 8
Owing to the heavy rain in catchment, the level in the Sukhna Lake has reached 1,161.80 ft, which is nearly 2 feet below the danger mark.
Generally, when the water level reaches above 1162 ft, the floodgates are opened.
An official said the floodgates would be opened when the water touched the danger mark.
The UT Engineering Department has taken up measures to prevent flooding of the areas alongside the Sukhna Choe during the rains. Officials have been assigned duties at the regulator end on a 24×7 basis to monitor the water level.
A control room has been established to monitor the discharge from the lake and to coordinate with the Deputy Commissioners of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula during the opening of the floodgates. TNS
Rain spell to continue for 5 days
As per the forecast, rain is expected to continue for the next five days. Temperatures are expected to start increasing after two days.
Highest 24-hour july rain in 7 years
The city recorded the highest 24-hour July rain in seven years. From 8:30 am till 11:30 pm on Saturday, the UT recorded 99.4 mm rainfall, which is the highest after 120.8 mm rainfall witnessed on July 28 in 2017. Last year, maximum 97mm rainfall was recorded on July 6, 21.5 mm on July 13, 2021, and 77.4 mm on July 8, 2020. Before 8:30 am, 23.3mm rainfall was recorded.
MC blames it on drainage capacity
The MC claimed the road gully cleaning was not the issue. In fact, the existing storm water drainage system did not have enough capacity to handle high volume of rainfall. The city drainage system has been designed to handle only 15mm/hour rainfall in northern sectors and 20mm/hour in southern areas. However, rainwater subsides in half an hour or so.
