Breach in Karnal drain, over 500 acres of paddy flooded

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 14

More than 500 acres in five villages of the district have been flooded as a result of a breach in Piyont drain yesterday.

Paddy fields in Piyont, Shekhpura, Manchuri, Alawla and Jalmana villages have been submerged. Tube wells and rooms in the fields, too, have been submerged.

Farmers said non-desilting of the drain was responsible for the flooding and alleged the drain was full with hyacinth. The banks of the drain were weak, they said.

The Irrigation Department, however, refuted the claim of a breach in the drain. It claimed fields had been submerged because of rainwater. “If there is any breach, it is made by farmers before it rained. Rainwater has accumulated in fields,” said Sanjeev Kumar, Executive Engineer (XEN).

Farmers started to clean the drain and plug the breach, but could not get success as the flow of the water was intense.

Farmers of Piyont village blocked the Karnal-Assandh road, demanding action against Irrigation Department officials. They lifted the blockade after a few hours in view of problems faced by commuters.

Preetam Singh, a farmer, said waterlogged fields were not only problem farmers faced. “Water has entered houses,” he said, adding “the department has been informed of the situation, but no official visited the village till today afternoon”.