Let water out of Ganga barrage slowly: Bijnor villagers to DM

BIJNOR: Representatives of seven riverside villages met with the district magistrate in Bijnor, saying if the authorities did not open the sluice gates of the Ganga barrage, the rising water-level of the river would soon inundate their villages.
The villagers complained that despite the rising water-level of the Ganga, authorities have still not opened the gates of the Ganga Barrage to let the water pass in small quantities.If water is held at the gates for a long time and then released in large quantities, this would lead to flooding of their villages.
According to reports, 2.43 lakh cusec water has been released from Haridwar and will reach Bijnor soon.
Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) accompanied the viilagers to the meeting with the DM. BKU district president Digambar Singh said, “It has been raining in Bijnor for the past two days and it has been continuously raining in the hill state of Uttarakhand. The water-levels in the barrage have risen dangerously. Since authorities have still not opened the gates, water will start reaching villages in the Khaddar soil region such as Ichchawala, Khairpur, Rawli, Brahmpuri, Bhagoti and Mohanpur. There are around 25-30 such villages where the risk of floods is very high. This will not only maroon them but also destroy all their crops. This will be particularly disastrous in a year of agrarian crisis. The authorities should release the water in small quantities and do so in a timely manner.”
Sarvendra Rathi, a resident of Ichchawala village, said. “Not only are our crops at risk but we are facing the threat of being homeless. If water reaches our houses, and it will, we will have nowhere to live.”
Assistant engineer at Bijnor barrage Ravindra Kumar said, “We never release or hold back water based on our whims. Water is released in a timely manner and in accordance with the orders we get. On Thursday night, we released 1.21 lakh cusec of water from the barrage. Currently, there is 71 lakh cusec of water at the barrage gates.”