Control room to monitor water level in Sukhna Lake

Chandigarh: The UT engineering department has started daily monitoring of the water level in Sukhna Lake by setting up a 24x7 control room, installing CCTV cameras and deploying 12 dedicated personnel round the clock at the lake to open floodgates in case of emergency. Officials of the engineering department have also been deployed for regular monitoring.
The trial run of opening the floodgates was completed under the supervision of senior engineering officials.Twelve personnel will be stationed at the lake till September, when the monsoon ends. They are supposed to open floodgates and release excess water into the Sukhna Choe when needed.

“Recently, a meeting was held with senior officials of Mohali district, mainly those from Zirakpur and Derabassi municipal council, who were briefed about the situation in detail. They have also been asked to be prepared for opening of floodgates and excess water in Sukhna Choe. Officials of Mohali district, who look after drainage of the area connected with the Sukhna Choe, which will be affected if water is released from the lake, have been asked to be prepared,” a senior UT official said.
The UT engineering department has written to the deputy commissioners of Chandigarh and Mohali to remain alert for release of water from Sukhna Lake. Since the Sukhna Choe, into which water from the lake is released, passes through residential areas of Chandigarh and Mohali district, Chandigarh Traffic Police has also been informed. Authorities will be informed well in advance before floodgates are opened so that they have time to take precautions.
For coordination, Chandigarh administration has created a WhatsApp group, which includes officials from Mohali, Zirakpur and Derabassi, senior officers of the municipal council, traffic police officials of Chandigarh and DCs of Chandigarh and Mohali. They receive regular updates about water level of the Sukhna Lake on the WhatsApp group. The highest water level of Sukhna lake is 1,163 feet. On Sunday, it was around 1,153 feet.