Ganga swells after unseasonalheavy rainfall in Uttarakhand

Kanpur: Heavy unseasonal rainfall in the hills not only caused heavy floods and devastation in Uttarakhand, it also led to an unexpected increase in the water level of Ganga in Kanpur at this time of the year.
The recent extremely heavy rains in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand have resulted in an increase in the water level in Ganga. While these rains wreaked havoc in the hills by causing flash floods and triggering landslides, the downpour also made the Ganga and its tributaries swell up by feeding them with extra water.
Such heavy rainfall is unusual in the month of October and hence when the water level rises in Ganga, it is noticeable at Ganga Barrage from where a tab is kept on water levels.
But the increased water level is benefiting the Jal Kal department since the water supply to the city is provided from Ganga.
Due to increased water level, the department now does not require the use of dredging machines to pull water from the Ganga.
Two dredging machines were being used till a few days ago, but now their use has been discontinued. However, the situation may not remain the same in the coming days. Once the water level dips again, then the same procedure of drawing water from Ganga will have to be deployed.
The Ganga water is now directly reaching the Bhairo Ghat pumping station.
Over two lakh cusecs of water had been released from the Narora dam into the Ganga. The water level, therefore, increased at Barrage and at Shuklaganj where increase or decrease in water table is recorded on an hourly basis. All 30 gates of Ganga barrage had been opened on Friday to allow increased water flow.
However, the increased water level is presently posing no threat to the low-lying Katri region, which is a cluster of about a dozen small villages.