This Article is From Jun 17, 2013

Early monsoon rain causes floods in Haryana, alert sounded

Early monsoon rain causes floods in Haryana, alert sounded
Chandigarh: Heavy rains in several parts of Haryana, particularly in Yamunanagar district, has led to floods as water level in the Yamuna river rose alarmingly prompting authorities to sound a high alert in the neighbouring districts of Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat.

Several low-lying villages in the district were flooded after the Yamuna River received heavy rainfall in its catchment areas.

The rains have led to an alarming increase in the water level of Yamuna, with over 8 lakh cusecs water flowing through the Hathni Kund barrage early this morning.

"This was maximum ever water which flowed through the barrage at a given point of time. However, the water flowing in the barrage had gradually now come down to around 6 lakh cusecs this afternoon," Yamunanagar's Deputy Commissioner, Markand Khete Malish told PTI over phone today.

Fifty-two people, including 15 children, stranded on a tract of land in Haryana's Yamunanagar district due to floods triggered by heavy rains, were rescued today.

Chhachrauli, Bilaspur and Jagadhri in Yamunanagar district received heavy downpour overnight, a MeT official said.

Several other parts of Haryana were lashed by rains including Ambala, Faridabad, Ballabgarh, Gurgaon, Nilokheri, Karnal, Rewari, Panipat, Sonepat and Panchkula.

In neighbouring Punjab, only a few places including Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Nabha, Ropar and Mohali were lashed by rains.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, received a heavy downpour overnight.

The southwest monsoon had yesterday advanced into entire Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab, 15 days ahead of its schedule. Last year, the monsoon had hit the region on July 7.

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