Chandigarh, Jul 14 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday hit out at the AAP for accusing the state government of being responsible for the flood-like situation in parts of Delhi, saying doing politics on natural calamities is "unethical".

His remarks came after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh held the BJP-JJP Haryana government responsible for the flood-like situation in Delhi by releasing water in the Yamuna from its Hathnikund barrage.

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There has been a natural calamity and "it is unethical to do politics even in such a time", the chief minister said, according to a statement issued here. Khattar is in Delhi and he met Union Urban and Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and held detailed discussions on various issues related to the state.

He said that the water level in the river has increased due to heavy rains and rapid flow of rainwater from hilly areas.

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Taking a jibe at Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Khattar said that "it seems that Haryana has become a nightmare for Kejriwal whenever Delhi is in trouble".

"Be it a pollution issue, water issue or any other, when Arvind Kejriwal fails to find any solution, he starts playing the blame game. Doing politics even on natural calamities is totally unethical," he said.

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala alleged that Kejriwal has a habit of blaming neighbouring states". "Arvind Kejriwal, who was born in Haryana, likes to blame Haryana for all the issues of Delhi," he said.

He advised the Delhi chief minister to join hands and fight this calamity together "instead of playing the blame game".

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also alleged that water from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana's Yamunanagar was released only in the Yamuna canal of Delhi and not towards the east and west canals that flow to Uttar Pradesh and within Haryana.

Anothre AAP leader, Somnath Bharti, termed the flood-like situation in Delhi a "BJP-made disaster." "The east and west canals that flow to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are completely dry. The water flow has been diverted towards Delhi purposely," Bharti alleged.

Advisor (Irrigation) to the Haryana Chief Minister, Devender Singh, said that according to Central Water Commission (CWC) guidelines, if the inflow of water in the Hathinikund Barrage is more than one lakh cusecs, then it cannot be diverted to the Western Yamuna Canal, which includes Haryana's share of Yamuna water, and the Eastern Yamuna Canal, which flows towards Uttar Pradesh, due to large boulders that could damage barrage structures.

"In such a situation, the head regulator gates of canals are closed and the gates of cross regulators on the barrage are opened for free flow of water into the Yamuna river," he said.

Without naming any AAP leader, he said misinformation is being spread on social media by some.

Referring to the recent heavy discharge from the barrage after incessant rains in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, Chief Minister Khattar said there was one lakh cusecs of water in the Yamuna river on the first day, but on the very next day, it suddenly increased to 3.7 lakh cusecs.

"As far as the issue of the release of water is concerned, we have informed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that Hathnikund is a barrage and not a dam. Water flow is controlled in dams. However in a barrage, water can only be regulated in a small quantity. The capacity of the barrage is one lakh cusecs and it is difficult to stop the water above this level," he said.

Khattar said that the excessive flow of water has also adversely affected many parts of Haryana, including Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat.

However, now the water level has started receding in many rivers in the state, the chief minister said, but added that the flow of water is high in Sonipat, Delhi, Faridabad and Palwal.

There is a possibility that the level will reduce in the coming 48 hours, he said.

Devender Singh said that, in any case, the capacity of the Western Yamuna Canal system is 17,000 cusecs and the Eastern Yamuna Canal is 7,000 cusecs, but it generally does not exceed 4,500 cusecs.

In addition, there are many drains downstream of the barrage, which drain into the Yamuna river, further increasing the level of water reaching Delhi and draining river water into the Bay of Bengal via Agra, he said.

The officials said that this is the situation all over the country, in which excess water coming from hills or from 'nullahs' goes into rivers, which ultimately drain this water into the sea.

"So there is nothing unusual in this case also and unnecessary controversy is being created by the Delhi government to hide its negligence and incompetence in the matter of flood preparedness," Devender Singh said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)