YAMUNANAGAR: Incessant rains over the past few days have led to an increase in the water levels in the Yamuna river on Monday, prompting authorities to open the floodgates of the Hathnikund barrage.
An official of the irrigation department here said the flow of water in the Yamuna at the Hathnikund barrage in the district rose to 3.29 lakh cusecs, the highest water flow recorded during this monsoon season.
Any flow exceeding 2.5 lakh cusecs is classified as a "high flood," Vijay Garg, executive engineer of the Irrigation Department, said.
Water released from the barrage typically takes around 48 hours to reach Delhi. Officials said an alert has been sounded and a strict vigil is being kept on villages falling in the areas of the Yamuna in the district and some other districts.
Many places in Haryana on Monday were lashed by rains, including Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Ambala.
Taking note of the spate in rivers in the region due to heavy rains in their catchment areas, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had said on Sunday that his government is alert and prepared to deal with any flood situation.
Saini had on Friday instructed all deputy commissioners in the state to monitor areas along rivers in their respective jurisdictions.
They were told to prepare a concrete action plan in advance for villages, settlements and colonies located near riverbanks.
Several districts in neighbouring Punjab are also gripped by floods as Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets are in spate following heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.