The studs were built by the irrigation department to check the erosion of land on the Haryana side of the river. The entire 48-km-long earthen protective bund from Bega village to Dahesra village near Haryana-Delhi border, along the Yamuna embankment is safe. S N Sharma, executive engineer, Water Service Division, Sonepat, and other staff are supervising the anti-flood and anti-erosion operations.

Unofficial sources say that the swollen Yamuna river has started changing its course on the Haryana side one km downstream from Baga and Memarpur complexes, posing a threat to the nearby agricultural land. The situation is likely to worsen when the river recedes.

According to another report, cracks have appeared in the bridge on the Rajpura distributary near Hassanpur Kurar village. Deputy Commissioner P K Mahapatra has deputed some officials of other departments to repair the bridge. Many residents said that not a single official of the irrigation department was present at the site.

Sirsa: A dispute over 3.5 kanals of land in Ganga village in Sirsa district has ended in murder.

According to reports received here today, two brothers, Gurdial Singh and Mukhtiar Singh, both residents of Ganga, were fighting over the demarcation of a small piece of land. The patwari and the kanungo were approached to demarcate the disputed land, which they delayed. Meanwhile, there were verbal duels between the children of both the brothers.

Reports say that Gurdial Singh's sons, Gurjit Singh and Sukha Singh, and others, struck Jagsir Singh (35), Mukhtiar Singh's son, on his head twice with a shovel.