Yamunanagar, August 19
Agricultural land in at least 25 villages located in low- lying areas were submerged in water and a check dam in Khilonwala washed away this morning due to the overflowing Yamuna.

The situation turned worse after 2.8 lakh cusecs of water was released into the Yamuna from the Hathnikund barrage in Chhachhrauli at 10 am.

The situation has triggered panic in at least 100 villages in Radaur, Jagadhri and Chhachhrauli in the district as also Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat. If the rains continue in the catchments areas of the Yamuna, the threat of floods in the low-lying areas of the state will become serious.

All 18 flood gates of the Hathnikund barrage (which regulates the riverwater) were opened early this morning. As a precautionary measure, irrigation officials stopped the release of water into the Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) and the Eastern Yamuna Canal (EYC) as the heavy flow in the Yamuna carries sand and stone that can choke the canal system. All water received at Hathnikund is now being released downstream of the Yamuna.

The water flow of the Yamuna was recorded at 72,000 cusecs at 2.30 am. It increased to 1.44 lakh cusecs at 8 am following which 2.8 lakh cusecs were released into the Yamuna at 10 am. The flow at 4 pm was reduced to 1 lakh cusecs.

The situation is tense in Lapra, Shekhpura and Pauwari villages where water has entered residential areas. Besides the Yamuna, the overflowing seasonal rivulets, Som and Pathrala, today submerged 10 villages.

At least five villages have been cut off with link roads washed away and several houses have been damaged The wall of a school has reportedly collaspsed. Water has accumulated on NH 73-A (Jagadhri to Poanta Sahib) in Khijrabad, causing much inconvenience to the commuters. The DC Ashok Sangwan, said the water had entered agricultural land in low-lying villages. “I have visited the affected areas and some villages in Chhachhrauli have again been submerged with Som and Pathrala rivulets in spate,” he added.

Sonepat, August 19
The district authorities have sounded an alert in villages along the banks of the Yamuna following the release of 2.5 lakh cusecs of water into the Yamuna at the Tajewala head works. A control room has been set up (phone no. 2221590) at the district headquarters. “The released water is likely to reach the district boundary around midnight and the administration has made all arrangements, including boats, life jackets, and empty bags,” he said. He said as a result of increase in the Yamuna, the water level in the drains, which terminate in the Yamuna, might increase

Residents of some villages in the Yamuna belt are praying that a breach occurs in the Yamuna. They say the ground water level has gone down and if the area is flooded, it will help increase the ground water level.

Ambala, August 19
Following moderate rain in catchments areas, the waters of the Tangri rivulet, that flows near Ambala cantonment, have entered at least 12 villages, including Kardhan, Brahaman Majra, Ghasitpur and Rampur Sarsehri.

A number of colonies along the banks have been partially flooded. The water in the Markanda rivulet has entered Tandwal, Gola, Mullana and Humaupur villages. Engineer-in-chief Harmail Singh said the flow in the Tangri was 23,000 cusecs whereas its capacity was 50,000 cusecs. Anil Vij, MLA, Ambala Cantt, said a dozen villages and a few colonies had been flooded.

He said recently the district administration had issued demolition notices to a large number of residents whose houses were located along the banks of the Tangri.

The floods that struck Yamunanagar district on July 25 and July 31 due to the overflowing Som and Pathrala rivulets had damaged 235 houses, claimed nine lives and affected crops on 18,000 acres. Two bridges were damaged and many flood-affected areas are in the grip of malaria and diarrhoea. Fresh floods have added to the woes of hapless villagers 

Jind, August 19
Sans power for the past three days, hundreds of irate residents of Nagura village in the district resorted to violence, which lead to a clash between them and the police last night.

The police fired several rounds into the air, besides resorting to a lathi charge, to disperse the mob. The violence resulted in heavy damage to the 132 kV substation and disruption of power supply to several villages in the region. Several persons, including some policemen, were injured when protesters resorted to throwing stones..

A large number of policemen have been deputed at the substation and in the village. The police has booked about 300 persons, including the sarpanch of the village, Rajesh Kumar, in this connection.

According to reports, hundreds of villagers assembled on the Jind-Assandh road last night in connection with the power supply problem.

It is learnt that the villagers had gone to meet officials of the department yesterday, but had to return as no senior official was present. This led to resentment among them and they decided to disconnect the main power line.

When their attempt to disconnect the power line failed, the villagers assembled on the main road near the village and blocked traffic. Police officials tried to get the traffic blockade removed, which led to an altercation.

The mob then pelted the police and other officials with stones.

An additional police force was sent immediately, but it also failed to contain the violence. The police then opened fire into the air and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the violent mob.

At least six policemen, including Krishan Kumar, SHO of the Alewa police station, were injured in the violence.

Property and machinery worth about Rs 8 lakh was damaged at the substation, said an official.

Chandigarh, August 19
The Haryana government has decided to construct 20 new modern bus stands across the state on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode and also extend the PPP mode to creating state register and issue smart card-based driving licences and registration certificates.

This was decided at a review meeting of the Transport Department held under the chairmanship of Transport Minister Om Parkash Jain here today. These new bus stands will meet the changing needs of public transportation.

The request for proposal of the firm - Feedback Ventures - for the development of modern bus stand in Karnal is under consideration of the state government. The tenders will be floated shortly in this regard after the final approval.

Initially, 20 locations were selected for the development of such modern bus stations. These included Karnal, Panchkula, Manesar, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad (NIT), Faridabad (Ballabhgarh), Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Gurgaon (near Rajiv Chowk), Gurgaon (existing bus stand), Gurgaon (Sector 29), Faridabad (Sector 12), Palwal, Bawal, Sonepat, Kundli, Panipat, Ambala City, Hisar and Pipli.

Four consultancy firms had also been appointed for advising and determining the yardsticks for establishing state-of-the-art modern bus stands at these locations.

A decision to construct bus stands at three locations in Hisar, Bhiwani and Panipat was also taken at the meeting and the project report of five more locations in Panchkula, Rohtak and Gurgaon was examined by a departmental committee.

The data related to driving licences, vehicle registration, permits, conductor licences will be digitised and made available online. Smart card will ensure adequate security features to prevent fake driving licences and vehicle registration.

The central government had also approved and supplied the hardware for this project. In the first phase, about 1,000 hand terminals will be provided to the Police Department for reading the data stored on smart cards. 

Rohtak, August 19
Endless wait and pain seems to have engulfed the family of Ravinder Singh, a Merchant Navy officer, who was a part of the 23-member crew of a cargo ship that was hijacked by Somalian pirates 19 days ago.

The family of the victim, residing in Srinagar Colony here, has been awaiting the news of his release desperately. However, no help has come from anywhere, including the union government, so far.

Ravinder, a third officer in the MV Suez cargo vessel, had left India on May 18 and was on duty when the vessel was hijacked by the pirates near the coast of Somalia.

Ravinder (30), father of two-year-old son, called the family yesterday from an unidentified place and told that his life was in danger due to no talks or communication between the pirates and the company that owned the ship.

Sources said the company is based in Egypt. He told his family members that the pirates had threatened to kill them in case the company did not respond to their demand.

The total number of Indians on this vessel is six, including two from Punjab and one from Jammu and Kashmir.

Ravinder’s father Rajender Singh, an ex-serviceman, said his son had asked them to contact the government officials for intervention immediately as their lives were in danger.

He said he took the matter with the officials concerned, but to no avail and he had no information about the action being taken at the government level so far.

Sonepat, August 19
Two youths identified as Rahul Sharma (25) and Gaurav (21) of Sadar Bazar in Delhi were reportedly run over by a goods train while they were crossing a level crossing near the local railway station late last night.

The bodies of the victims were handed over to their family members by the Government Railway Police after a postmortem in the local Civil Hospital today. A case has been registered. The victims, who had come to Sonepat for some work, were returning to the railway station for boarding a passenger train to Delhi scheduled to depart from Sonepat at 10.30 pm. — OC