Sandbags plug 60-ft breach after canal floods 250 acres in Barnala
Additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Anuprita Johal said the breach was caused by excessive rainfall in the canal’s catchment areas.
A 60-foot-wide breach in the canal distributary of Dhaula village led to flooding of nearly 250 acres of farmland in Barnala, with water also entering several homes. Authorities have now managed to plug the breach temporarily using sandbags, though water remains spread across the affected area.
According to Gurmeet Singh, husband of Dhaula’s sarpanch Rajinder Kaur, the breach occurred late on Monday night, between 10 pm and 11 pm.
“We got to know about the breach around 5 am on Tuesday. I contacted the irrigation department around 5.30 am and by the time a team from the department arrived, water had already flooded 250 acres,” he said, adding that water reached homes in the fields and touched the village boundary, located about 1.5 kilometres from the breach.
A temporary embankment has since been constructed using sandbags to control the water flow. However, villagers said water has not yet receded due to the widespread inundation.
Additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Anuprita Johal said the breach was caused by excessive rainfall in the canal’s catchment areas. “The breach has been largely plugged and the remaining work will be completed by Wednesday. It is under control now,” she said.
“A detailed assessment of the affected areas is still underway. We are now focussing on completing the plugging work,” Johal added.
Calls made to the sub-divisional officer and executive engineer of the irrigation department went unanswered.
