CHANDIGARH: With the city receiving its heaviest monsoon in eight years, water level in the Sukhna lake has reached 1,161 feet. On Friday, water level in the lake was recorded at 1,161 feet, just two feet below the danger mark of 1,163 feet.A senior official of the engineering department said they are measuring water level regularly and would inform senior officials and neighbouring governments of Punjab and Haryana when it reaches 1,163 feet. If that happens, he said, authorities would have to open the floodgates. This was last done in 2008, when water level crossed the 1,163 mark.According to the meteorology department, the city received 793.7mm rain from June 1 to September 12, a 4% increase over the normal of 762.5mm and the highest rainfall in eight years.Last year, the city received 752.8mm rain, 11% below normal. In 2016, rain was 45% below normal at just 456.9mm. In 1958, the lake encompassed 228 hectares. Today, it spanned 148 hectares, down by almost a third. Drying of Sukhna, a manmade lake, in the summer has become an annual process. But good rainfall over the last two to three years has led to increase in its water level. The high court took suo motu notice of depletion in water level of the Sukhna Lake in 2009 and has been monitoring the case since then.

Stay updated with all the Chandigarh Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.