Crest of Hussainiwala barrage damaged, thousands of cusecs ‘leaking’ into Pakistan

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, December 23

In the last two days, thousands of cusecs of Sutlej water has been “wasted” as it flowed into Pakistan from the Hussainiwala barrage, whose crest got severely damaged apparently due to the rusting of gates and the strong current of water during recent flooding.

The barrage was constructed by the British way back in 1922 and assumes great significance as it controls flow of Sutlej water south of it. Sources said most of these gates have become old and rusted and require extensive repairs.

A similar problem had surfaced few years ago, following which a proposal for the repair of gates was submitted to the Ministry of Water Resources.

There are around 29 gates of the barrage that control the flow of water going towards Pakistan and further up to Sulemanki Headworks situated near the Fazilka border. The crest of gate number 26 has been totally damaged, while others have also developed cracks.

Due to damage to the crest, the water has been getting “wasted”, as it has been flowing to Pakistan. Under the provisions of the treaty signed with Pakistan in 1960, India has complete control over waters of Sutlej, besides other rivers that originate from Western Himalayas and flow through India before entering the neighbouring country.

The gates of Hussainiwala barrage are opened during floods when there is excess discharge of water from Harike Headworks to prevent the flooding of fields. However, during normal conditions, the flow of water going towards Pakistan is restricted through these gates.

Two canals, namely the Eastern Canal and Gang Canal are also situated here. While the Eastern Canal feeds Luther Head which supplies water for irrigational purposes in Ferozepur, Guruharsahai and Mamdot areas, the Gang Canal takes care of the flow of river water when it is in excess in the pond.

The pond has been silted and is infested with water hyacinth and hence offers marginal storage only. Executive Engineer Vinod Kumar, who is posted at Hussainiwala Headworks, said the crest might have been damaged due to the recent floods. “We have already taken damage control measures and work on repairing the crest will start as soon as the water level in the pond gets reduced,” he said.

Repair work soon: Executive Engineer

• Executive Engineer Vinod Kumar, posted at Hussainiwala Headworks, said the crest might have been damaged due to the recent floods
• “We have taken damage-control measures and work on repairing the crest will start when the water level gets reduced,” he added