Stating that the concerned department is making active preparations for flood control before the monsoon season, Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry on Sunday said that out of a total of 846 drains across the state, the cleaning of 671 drains — covering a cumulative length of 4,040.23 kms — have been planned. So far, 3,751.40 kms, accounting for 92.85 percent of the targeted length, has already been cleaned through MGNREGA, departmental machinery, and the e-tendering process. The remaining work is progressing rapidly and is expected to be completed shortly.   The Minister, presiding over the 56th meeting of the Haryana State Drought Relief and Flood Control Board, said that a total of 209 short-term flood control works were approved. Out of these, 12 works have been completed, 175 works are in progress and the target is to complete them by June 30.   Eight works are stalled due to farmers protest and coming in the eco-sensitive zone. The remaining 14 works are related to water conservation and material purchase, whose purchase process is in progress. Temporary arrangements have been made at these sites, which will not have any impact on the flood situation. These works will also be completed soon.   Along with this, it is estimated to remove 39.22 lakh cubic meters of silt in the Tangri river. In the work divided into three parts, contracts for two parts have been signed and the work is in progress. Apart from this, cleaning is also going on in the municipal limits of Kardan, Babyal, and Chandpura villages. So far, about 5.75 lakh cubic meters of silt has been removed, and the remaining work will be completed by the prescribed time limit, that is June 30, 2025.   At the same time, a total of 65.47 lakh cubic meters of silt is estimated to be removed in the Markanda river. Tenders were invited twice, but no bids were received. After this, tenders were again issued for the primary categories of 58,000 cubic meters. About 60 percent of the work has been completed in Jhaansa, Kalsana, Gumti, and Jalbera villages and the remaining work will be completed by the stipulated time. The removed soil is being used to strengthen the embankments and other development works in Ambala and Kurukshetra districts. Repair and strengthening work of all the breakage sites in the Tangri and Markanda rivers has also been completed, which has reduced the possibility of floods in future to a great extent.   The Minister informed that the Saraswati river, which flows from Adi Badri (Yamunanagar) to its confluence with the Ghaggar river, is about 190 km long and passes through Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts. It has eight tributaries whose total length is about 101 km. Internal cleaning work in the Saraswati river and its tributaries is in progress at a rapid pace, in which about 85 percent of the work has been completed and the remaining work will be completed by June 25, 2025. She said that we are committed to ensure complete flood protection before the monsoon. Reports of this work are being taken from the department every day, the Minister added.

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