Uncontrolled mining adds to Ghaggar danger

On Thursday morning Tri-City residents at last got their long awaited taste of rain but while the cloud-blackened sky was greeted with rejoicing, those who crossed the Ghaggar Bridge near Nada Sahib could not fail to cast apprehensive glances at the swift current of the rapidly rising stream.

Rain in the hills invariably results in flash-floods in this river. Although the PWD has tried to protect the embankment at this spot, the bed of the river has been subjected to uncontrolled mining of sand and bagri. This multiplies the destructive potential of the river. It can attack anywhere. The Ghaggar Bridge has been breached twice: once during the 1999 monsoon and again during the monsoon of 2001. In these years low-lying areas of Panchkula were inundated. Panchkula, watch out. With the Ghaggar, you never know.