Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday directed to constitute a two-member high-level fact-finding technical committee to “thoroughly investigate” the reported jammed gates of the ITO barrage in Delhi.
While taking cognizance of posts appearing on social media and the news received through different mediums about the five gates of Delhi’s ITO barrage being jammed, the CM asked the committee to thoroughly investigate the matter and submit its report to him within 24 hours. Two Engineer-in -Chiefs have been made members of the committee.
Khattar said the Haryana government wants to know the truth about the non-opening of five gates of ITO barrage with full impartiality. The state government is working promptly in providing relief to the flood-affected people, he added.
The CM said almost all the states of North India have suffered huge loss of life and property due to floods. He said all the state governments should work in solidarity on this issue and refrain from blaming each other as flood is a natural calamity and it has affected many states including Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
After the Yamuna floodwaters submerged the busy ITO intersection, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Haryana government, saying that the barrage is in their control but “it has no interest”.
He also said Navy personnel are currently working to open the jammed gates of the ITO barrage so that the water is drained quickly.
“Navy personnel working to open five jammed gates of ITO barrage for speedy drainage of water,” the Delhi CM said.
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had said the barrage, situated at ITO is maintained by the Haryana government, consists of 32 gates out of which five gates were blocked through which water was unable to pass.Kejriwal on Friday said that the first jammed gate of the ITO Barrage were opened after nearly 20 hours.