10 more villages submerged in Karnal district
Parveen Arora
Karnal, July 13
After creating havoc in around 25 villages of the Indri block, water of the Yamuna has now flooded low-lying areas of around 10 more villages of the Kunjpura block at a rapid pace, entering several houses and inundating thousands of acres of fields.
As per the authorities, the Yamuna has changed its flow and has taken its natural route from North to South, creating the fear of flood in around 50 more villages of Karnal and Gharaunda blocks, keeping the authorities on their toes. Fearing flood in other villages, Gharaunda MLA Harvinder Kalyan, Indri MLA Ram Kumar Kashyap, Commissioner Karnal Division Saket Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Anish Yadav, Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan, along with other officials, visited various villages and reviewed their preparedness for the flooding. The DC also directed for the cleaning of the drains where the flow of water could be obstructed.
Very hard time for us
Water has entered our houses, forcing us to shift to the first floor. It’s very hard time for us and we are managing with lots of difficulties. —Subhash Chand, A resident of kalsora
Will have to transplant paddy again
I have transplanted paddy on 15 acres, but water has washed it away, leaving us with no option but to transplant it again. Farmers should be given relief. —Raj Kumar, A farmer of garhpur
NDRF teams evacuating people
Two teams of the NDRF have been pressed into service. We have made five centres for people who are being evacuated at Ghula. —Jagdish Sharma, Kaithal deputy commissioner
The Yamuna has caused immense hardships to people living in the flooded villages.
Farmers are worried for their crops, as so far, water has inundated crops on over 50,000 acres of land in these villages, causing huge losses to farmers.
The authorities are evacuating people from the low-lying areas to safer places. Those who are resisting are being evacuated forcefully. So far, around 1,000 people have been evacuated by the NDRF, Army, police and district administration. The authorities say water started receding which is a positive sign, but they are monitoring the situation.
“Water level has started receding which is a positive sign, but we are monitoring the situation. People are being evacuated to safer places. There is a threat of flood in around 50 more villages of Kunjpura, Karnal and Gharaunda blocks,” said Anish Yadav, Deputy Commissioner.
Medical assistance is being provided to sick people and pregnant women. They are being shifted to hospitals or safe places, the DC added.
Meanwhile, over 400 workers and employees with machines and dumpers are working to plug two major breaches in a bundh at Garkhpur Tapu and Musepur villages, but poor connectivity owing to submerging of roads has become a major hurdle before the administration.
