Himachal rivers may abate, ease Punjab, Haryana floods

SHIMLA - The flow in rivers and streams running downstream from Himachal Pradesh to neighbouring Punjab and Haryana is likely to abate as the rains are receding, the weatherman said here Friday.

Moderate to heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh in the past few days is among the factors that have contributed to a flood-like situation in Punjab and Haryana.

“After days of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Sirmaur (located adjoining Haryana) and in Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Kangra districts (located upstream of Punjab), the entire hill state would get moderate to mild rains in the next few days,” Manmohan Singh, the director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

He said there are chances of moderate rainfall in some areas of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Shimla and Solan districts Friday.

Continuous rainfall for the past few days abnormally increased the water level in the major rivers of the hill state — the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna — which enter the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.

Two major highways were under water in Haryana Thursday and over 30 villages in Yamunanagar district inundated as the Yamuna river overflowed its banks.

Agricultural land located on the banks of the Satluj river in Punjab was inundated due to rise in the river’s water level again.