Ambala, K’shetra officials monitoring situation

Tribune News Service

Ambala, August 18

About 15,600 cusecs of water recorded in the seasonal Tangri river in Ambala Cantonment, while about 60,800 cusecs of water was recorded in the Markanda river in Mullana on Sunday.

Water entered several low-lying areas where residential colonies in Ambala Cantt. In Mullana, water entered the fields of several villages and affected traffic on the National Highway-344 in the evening. 

As a precautionary measure, the district administration asked people residing in colonies built on the Tangri riverbed to vacate their houses. But the residents refused to shift, saying the situation was no different from previous years.

Arun Kumar, a resident of an affected colony, said: “Floods occur every year. The administration has asked us to shift to safer places, but we don’t want to leave our houses.”

Deputy Commissioner Sharandeep Kaur said, “A committee has been formed to monitor the situation. No loss has been reported so far. The administration is prepared to tackle any adverse situation.”

Meanwhile, Kurukshetra administrative officials are on their toes as the Markanda river in Shahabad is in spate.

Deputy Commissioner SS Phulia, who visited villages on Sunday, said: “No damage has been reported so far. The the situation is under control.”

Rail traffic disrupted

Heavy rainfall disrupted rail services on the Ambala-Saharanpur line for several hours on Sunday. The railway authorities had to cancel two trains. Three trains were stopped for more than four hours. Pankaj Gupta, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala, said the rain damaged the foundation of an electric pole on the Ambala-Saharanpur line near Yamunanagar. “We had to partially cancel two trains,” he said. The traffic was restored on the affected line in the evening, Gupta added.

Help pours in 

• As water was flowing over the National Highway-344 in Mullana, the police diverted traffic

• People living in slum areas in Saha have been affected by incessant rainfall. Some social organisations have came forward to provide food and water to affected families

• As water touched the grider level at bridge number 294 between Ambala and Dukheri station, 19 trains were diverted on Sunday