Hry mulling dam near Hathnikund barrage

CHANDIGARH: Call it a long term initiative or a lesson learnt from the floods, the Haryana government is exploring the possibility of constructing a dam in the upstream of the Yamuna river to tap the excess water in the catchment areas.
The government officials claimed that the proposed site for setting up the dam was nearly 4 km ahead of Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar district.
Haryana has completed its survey and prepared a project report and is now waiting for the nod from Himachal Pradesh, said an official. The issue is likely to be at the top of the agenda for the yet to be convened meeting between Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Himachal counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
“Though it is one of the old proposals, the CM has been keen on this project… The tapped water can be utilised for various purposes and at the same time, it will reduce the chances of flooding in Yamuna. We have shared this reference with the Central Water Commission (CWC) and are now waiting for a nod from Himachal Pradesh,” said Devender Singh, advisor to the CM on irrigation.
The idea is to have optimum utilisation of water as well as bringing down the damages. Else, we have to follow the protocol of releasing water above 1 lakh cusec into the Yamuna river, he said.
Notably, incessant rains in northern India had resulted in heavy discharge of water in the Yamuna river and water level at Hathnikund barrage had risen from over 1 lakh cusec to 3.50 lakh cusec within a couple of days.
Added with other seasonal rivulets, the fast flow had badly hit Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Yamunanangar and Panipat districts where water entered both urban and rural localities and delinked roads and rail networks besides inundating the agricultural fields.
The swollen Yamuna river also took toll on Delhi and led to a war of words between the ruling AAP leaders, including CM Arvind Kejriwal, and the Haryana government led by Manohar Lal Khattar.
Delhi blamed the Haryana government for intentionally releasing the water into the Yamuna river, which impacted the national capital, instead of releasing it into the Eastern Yamuna Canal and Western Yamuna Canal entering Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, respectively.
The Haryana government rubbished the allegations, saying that the government is following the rules mandated by the Central Water Commission for releasing any flow above 1 lakh cusec into the Yamuna river.