Crops in 30K acres submerged in Panipat, Sonepat districts

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, July 14

Heavy rains and flooding in the Yamuna belt for the past few days have submerged crops, causing huge loss to farmers in Panipat and Sonepat districts. Around 20,000 acre of land on which paddy, sugarcane, fodder crop, vegetables like brinjal, sweet corn and tomato, and other crops submerged in Panipat and over 13,000 acre were inundated in Sonepat.

Meanwhile, potable water supply has been badly hit in Sonepat city as the water supply pipe from Ranney well project at Jajal village has been washed away with the road. The Sonepat MC authorities have made alternative arrangements to provide drinking water to residents.

Though the waters started receding in Panipat today, the Yamuna is still flowing above the danger level, which is 231.5 m, due to continuous rain and release of water from the Hathnikund Barrage on the Yamuna.

The breach in bundh occurred at five places in Sonepat district — Bakhtawarpur, Machrola, Badoli, Toki and Khurrampur villages. Taking a boat ride, MP Ramesh Kaushik, along with DC Lalit Sewach, took stock of the situation. They met village residents of Jajal Toki village, which was cut off from the district headquarters.

Around 45 km area in Panipat district and 41.74 km area in Sonepat district is at the Yamuna banks.

Standing crops of sugarcane, paddy, pumpkin, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, sweet corn, tomato and other vegetables in around 20,000 acre near the bundh have been submerged in Panipat district, said a farmer.

Wazir Singh, Deputy Director, Agriculture Department, said around 18,000-20,000 acre land was submerged due to floods in villages adjoining the Yamuna. This was the vegetable growers’ belt, and the floods would damage the crops, he said. The actual loss would be assessed only after the water was drained out from the fields, he said.

In Sonepat, river waters entered all 30 villages adjoining the Yamuna and crops, including sugarcane, paddy and vegetables, were submerged, said Devender Kuhar, subject matter specialist in the Agriculture Department. The loss to vegetable crops in the belt could be 100 per cent.

Hariom Atri, District Revenue Officer (DRO), Sonepat, said the actual loss would be ascertained after the water level receded.

After water started receding in Panipat villages, Irrigation Department officials, with the support of Army, began plugging the breach at the ‘ring bundh’ near Tamshabad village. DC Virender Kumar Dahiya and SP Ajit Singh Shekhawat, along with officials, reached the spot and reviewed the breach-plugging process. The DC said work would continue round the clock and also directed that water be drained from the roads.