Haryana takes action against four Irrigation Dept officers for flooding in Delhi

Chandigarh, Aug 9 (IANS) The Haryana government has taken action against four officers of the Irrigation Department for dereliction of duty during floods caused by excessive water level in Yamuna river passing through the state, leading to flooding in the national capital.

Action has been taken against these officers after the report of an enquiry committee, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The committee was formed to investigate the matter of non-opening of four gates of the ITO Yamuna barrage during floods.

The government has suspended Irrigation Department's Chief Engineer Sandeep Taneja, while orders have been issued to charge sheet Senior Engineer Tarun Aggarwal and Executive Engineer Manoj Kumar of the department. Along with this, SDO Mukesh Verma, posted at Yamuna Barrage, has been charge sheeted.

Due to heavy rains, a significant surge in the Yamuna level was witnessed and due to non-opening of four gates of the barrage near ITO in Delhi, excess water could not be cleared in time causing massive water logging and floods.

Taking cognisance of this matter, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had formed a three-member committee to investigate the entire matter. Irrigation Department's Engineer-in-Chief Satbir Kadian and Chief Engineer Suresh Kumar Yadav were included as members in this committee headed by Engineer-in-Chief Rakesh Chauhan.

In the report, the committee observed that these gates were submerged in flood water about 12 feet deep. Apart from it, they were also filled with silt. These gates can be open only when both upstream and downstream silt around these gates is removed through special techniques.

It has been stated in the report that no power connection was available to carry out the process.

Floods in Delhi mainly occurred due to excessive encroachment, due to which the water reached up to the Ring Road. The excessive and unplanned construction around the river is obstructing the flow of Yamuna, said the report.

The Yamuna's natural flood outlets have been systematically encroached upon for decades.

According to the report, during the dry season, the flow of the river stops completely, while the release of polluted water into the river through various drains leads to the accumulation of silt and rise in the river bed levels.

In such a situation, the Delhi government should remove the heavy silt in front of gate number 28 to 32 so that flood water can flow through these gates.