Devastating floods in Haryana cause widespread damage to roads and bridges

In a grim turn of events, floods wreaked havoc in Haryana, affecting a larger area than officially reported. While 12 districts were officially listed as flood-affected, the actual impact extended to 17 districts. The affected districts included Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Faridabad, Palwal, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Jhajjar, Kaithal, Jind, Karnal, Panipat, Rewari, and Mahendragarh. The floods inflicted severe damage on infrastructure, with over 1,234 roads, spanning more than 2,104 kilometres, being damaged due to floodwaters and waterlogging.
Amid the destruction, three districts – Rohtak, Gurugram, and Nuh – managed to avoid damage to their roads, despite the widespread inundation. However, in five districts, bridges suffered damage, and restoration work is still underway for four of those bridges. The Public Works Department (PWD), responsible for maintaining roads and bridges, estimates that more than Rs 441 crore will be required to repair the damaged infrastructure. Notably, roads under the Marketing Board and local bodies such as Municipal Corporations and Councils are not included in this assessment.
In response to the catastrophe, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has issued orders for the repair of the damaged roads. The Additional Chief Secretary of the PWD Department, Anurag Rastogi, has initiated the restoration process by gathering information from the department and holding discussions with top officials. However, due to ongoing rains, the complete repair of roads might take some time. Currently, the focus is on making the roads usable for traffic as soon as possible.
Among the districts, Fatehabad, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, and Panchkula have suffered the maximum road damage. These districts alone would require over Rs 288 crore for repairs. Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, and Jind also faced significant damage to their roads, with each requiring substantial funds for rehabilitation.
Similarly, bridges in six cities were impacted, with Yamunanagar district experiencing the most damage to six bridges. Ambala and Panchkula districts each had three damaged bridges, while Kurukshetra and Jhajjar had one each. Notably, traffic is yet to be restored on two bridges in Yamuna Nagar and one each in Ambala and Kurukshetra.
The floods also had severe implications for the agricultural sector in neighbouring Punjab. Heavy downpours from July 9 to 11 resulted in flooding vast agricultural fields and caused extensive damage to the paddy crop. Over six lakh acres of fields were submerged, and more than two lakh acres of paddy need to be resown in the affected areas, including Patiala, Sangrur, Mohali, Rupnagar, Jalandhar, and Fatehgarh Sahib districts. Experts have advised farmers to consider alternative crops like maize, pearl millet, vegetables, and moong if the resowing of paddy cannot be completed by the first week of August. Delay in resowing could impact wheat crop sowing in November.
In Himachal Pradesh, the tourism industry has been grappling with financial hardships due to heavy rains and consequent suspension of tourism activities. Heavy and continuous downpours in the region since July have led to a significant decline in tourist inflow to places like Shimla. The stakeholders of the tourism industry are enduring financial stress, and this adds to the losses they have faced over the past five years, including water shortages in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Despite the challenges, there is hope for recovery as road connectivity is being restored, and the tourism industry is looking forward to welcoming visitors again.
Overall, the floods in Haryana and Punjab have left a trail of destruction, impacting not only the infrastructure and agricultural sector but also the livelihoods of the affected communities. As the restoration efforts continue, authorities and communities are working together to rebuild and recover from the devastating floods.