River commissions published a joint reading after an autumn flood that arrived earlier than the models either side uses. Gauges upstream and downstream were photographed at the same hour, so the argument is about the river and not about whose clock was late.
The flood did not breach the main levee. It overtopped a secondary bank and sat in fields that were still holding a crop. Farmers want a compensation category that the existing scheme, written for a summer flood, does not name.
What happens next
Engineers will resurvey the secondary bank before the next rain. They have not promised to raise it. A higher bank in one place pushes water to the next low point, and the next low point is a village that stayed dry this time.
The joint note is four pages and has no adjective for the flood except “early”. Both commissions insisted on that. A shared number, they said, does not need a shared mood.
Taj Today will update this report if the official numbers or the timetable change. Related coverage stays on the World page.
