Chandigarh, Aug. 17 — The Union Territory administration on Saturday opened one of the three floodgates of Sukhna Lake for the fourth time this monsoon after the water level rose close to the danger mark of 1,163 feet following fresh rainfall in the catchment area.
The gate was opened around 2:45 p.m. to release excess water into the Ghaggar river through the Sukhna Choe, officials said. The gate was lifted up to a height of three inches and will be closed once the level recedes to nearly 1,162 feet.
This is the fourth operation of the season, with floodgates previously opened on August 6, 8 and 15. The administration has stationed personnel at the lake’s regulator round-the-clock, supplemented with CCTV surveillance. A control room has also been set up to coordinate with the district administrations of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula during floodgate operations.
Officials confirmed that neighbouring districts were alerted in advance before Saturday’s release. The Engineering Department had also conducted a trial opening of the gates on June 28 to check their working condition.
Records show that the floodgates were opened four times in 2023, six times in 2022 and five times in 2021. In August 2020, the opening of two floodgates led to flooding in low-lying areas of Zirakpur situated along the Sukhna Choe. Earlier, on September 24, 2018, the gates were opened after a gap of 10 years.
