Grim situation persists in flood-hit Punjab district; relief efforts underway

The situation in flood-hit areas of Punjab's Rupnagar district remained grim on the fourth day on Friday.

More than a dozen villages along the Satluj river are still cut off from the mainland, officials said.

The district administration has declared holiday till further orders in all the schools in flood-hit areas. An official spokesman said power and water supply has been restored in villages where water had entered due to overflowing river.

Some parts of districts including Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and Kapurthala districts were submerged following the release of excess water from Pong and Bhakra dams this week.

Rupnagar Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav said on Friday said that for the last few days, the district administration is helping affected people with food, drinking water and medical aid.

She said 22 nodal officers remain present round the clock in 22 villages where danger of floods was high. She appealed to villagers not to panic and not to fall prey to rumours.

In Ferozepur district, the bridge connecting more than 20 villages at Hajara village had been damaged due to heavy discharge of Sutlej water. Earlier, this bridge had collapsed on July 13 and was repaired by the administration with the help of villagers.

More than four dozen villages have been submerged due to heavy discharge of water in Ferozepur district, officials said.

The residents of these villages are moving to safer places.

According to official sources, 2,84,947 cusecs water had been released downstream from Harike Headworks while 2,58,910 cusecs water was released downstream from Hussainiwala Headworks. At Hussainiwala, 24 out of 29 gates have been opened which indicates the heavy flow of water.

Special teams of NDRF, Indian Army, BSF and Punjab Police have been deputed for the rescue operations during which more than 2,000 people have been evacuated and rescued in Ferozepur district.

At Kaluwala village which is surrounded by Sutlej from three sides and Pakistan from one side, 145 villagers were rescued by the Ferozepur district administration on Friday.

In the other affected district Hoshiarpur, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash, along with Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, visited the flood-affected villages in the Tanda and Mukerian.

Som Parkash said the recent floods, which occurred in the villages of Talwara, Mukerian, Dasuya and Tanda areas due to the release of excess water from the Pong Dam reservoir, have resulted in significant damage to people's homes, agricultural crops, and livestock.

The Punjab government should promptly extend assistance to the flood-affected people, he said.

While Punjab had last month too witnessed floods in many parts, a team of the Central government had recently surveyed the flood-affected regions and based on the report it submits, the Union government will extend additional assistance to the state, Som Parkash said.

Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal said the situation is improving in the flood-affected areas, given that the floodwaters have started to recede. In regions where the floodwaters have subsided, people have begun returning to their homes, she said.

The administration is operating relief camps in the flood-affected regions. They are providing medical supplies to the people and ensuring the arrangement of fodder for the animals.

A total of 25 cattle, comprising 16 buffaloes, one bull, and eight buffalo calves, perished in the flooding of the Beas river near Badaiya village in Hoshiarpur Thursday evening. They lost their lives while attempting to drink water from the river, the officials said on Friday.

Saif, a resident of Badaiya village, was tending to his cattle near the banks of the Beas river. A sudden surge in water level took place while the animals were drinking, leading to their drowning, they said.

A youth belonging to Alewala village in Ferozepur was feared drowned on Friday when the bike he was riding on was washed away due to heavy flow of water.

The 18-year-old was going from Alewala village to Fattewala in Ferozepur with his friend on a bike on a "bundh" situated along the Sutlej river when their two-wheeler was washed away due to heavy flow of water.

Meanwhile, Punjab Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar Friday visited the flood-affected areas of Patti constituency in Tarn Taran to assess the situation and relief efforts.

He supervised the rescue operation carried out by the NDRF and district administration in areas where people were stranded due to waterlogging and ensured their safe evacuation, said an official statement.

Bhullar, along with Deputy Commissioner Tarn Taran Baldeep Kaur and other officials of the departments concerned, visited some of the affected villages and listened to the issues faced by people in the flood-affected areas.

Bhullar said the embankment of Dhusi Bandh is being strengthened with the support of local residents to protect it from erosion at sensitive areas.

Along with the safe evacuation of the people of the villages affected by the floods across the state, ration, drinking water, medicines and other essential items are being provided in the relief centres, he said.