Multiple agencies join hands to evacuate stranded people in flood-hit Punjab villages

Chandigarh, Aug 29 (PTI) Rescue and relief operations continued resolutely in the flood-hit areas of Punjab on Friday as multiple agencies joined hands to provide succour to the affected people.

Several Punjab districts are reeling under massive floods as water levels in Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets rose due to heavy rains in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

As villages in low-lying areas along their banks were inundated, hundreds of people have been evacuated to safer places, officials said.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday directed authorities of the affected districts to intensify the pace of relief and rescue measures. He is also scheduled to hold a high-level meeting in Chandigarh to take stock of the situation.

The situation remained grim in many areas, where overnight rains compounded the trouble even as the flood waters refused to recede. Heavy rains lashed Chandigarh as well at night.

Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said they are reaching out to stranded people in waterlogged villages by boat. People are being continuously evacuated to safe locations, and those who wish to stay back are being provided with necessary supplies through boats, she said in an X post.

The Amritsar district administration has deployed amphibious ATOR (All Terrain Off Road) vehicles that can move through water and rugged terrain, and boats for evacuating stranded villagers in Ramdas area.

While villages worst-affected by the floods were in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts, heavy rains have triggered flood alert in Patiala as well on Friday.

Patiala was among the districts worst affected by floods in 2023.

The Patiala district administration has issued a 'high alert' warning for several low-lying villages along the Ghaggar river following heavy rainfall in its catchment area and the opening of floodgates at Sukhna lake in Chandigarh.

Villages along the Ghaggar river embankment near Derabassi were also advised to stay alert, though authorities assured that there was no cause for panic.

Mohali Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal on Friday visited the Tiwana embankment of the Ghaggar river and assured the residents that the district administration is fully alert.

Water levels in Ghaggar river had crossed 70,000 cusecs at 8 am on Friday, but receded to 35,000 cusecs by 12.30 in the noon, Mittal said.

The deputy commissioner, however, said that all vulnerable points including Tiwana, Mubarikpur and Bakarpur were being monitored by the district administration teams.

Meanwhile, Gurdaspur district authorities have pressed into service a drone to deliver relief material including medicines, dry ration and water bottles to affected people in Dera Baba Nanak.

Various Central agencies have been working in coordination with state authorities tirelessly for the past few days to evacuate stranded people from inundated areas.

On request from the district administrations, the Army, the Border Security Force, the Indian Air Force, and the National Disaster Response Force have swiftly responded to the crisis situation and are undertaking large-scale rescue operations, officials said.

The evacuated people were being shifted to relief camps, where ample availability of food, medicines, and other relief materials have been arranged.

Army columns have rescued several people from affected areas.

Since August 27, troops of Army's Panther Division have been tirelessly operating in the flood-hit Ramdas-Ajnala belt.

"In 40+ submerged villages, soldiers are carrying out nonstop rescue and relief operations -- evacuating families, delivering medical aid, distributing food and essentials, and supporting civil authorities in restoring normalcy," the Army posted on X.

The troops of Army's Golden Arrow Division were also working similarly in some of the flood-ravaged villages.

With villages in Hoshiarpur district still reeling from the damage caused by a spate in Beas tributary Chakki Khad, which breached embankments and inundated farmlands in Mukerian sub-division on Sunday, residents on Friday urged authorities to immediately plug the breaches to prevent further losses.

Their concerns were exacerbated by the Pong Dam on River Beas remaining above danger mark, officials said. The water level in the dam stood at 1,391.98 feet on Friday morning, with an outflow of 1,00,614 cusecs and inflow of 53,000 cusecs.

Mehtabpur sarpanch Manjinder Singh said the floodwaters have damaged standing crops in nearly 2,200 acres of farmland in his village.

There was no floodwater in Mehtabpur on Friday morning, he said, but water levels in Beas has begun rising, raising apprehensions that it could reach the village later in the day.

Referring to the two breaches that occurred in Dhussi bund near the village on Sunday, he urged the Hoshiarpur administration to plug them at the earliest to safeguard the village and its inhabitants.

Farmlands in several villages across Tanda and Mukerian sub-divisions have been submerged for the last several days.

Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain on Thursday visited flood-affected areas of Tanda and Dasuya sub-divisions to review the ongoing relief operations and assured people that the administration was making all-out efforts to provide timely assistance to them.

Meanwhile, Punjab Congress MLAs have decided to contribute one month's salary to the Chief Minister's Flood Relief Fund, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said on Friday.

"In solidarity with the flood-affected families of Punjab, all INC Punjab MLAs and I have decided to contribute one month's salary to the CM's Flood Relief Fund. This is a humble gesture of empathy in these testing times. I urge all citizens and organisations to come forward for relief and rehabilitation," Bajwa, a senior Congress leader and MLA from Qadian, said in an X post.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Mann had also said that his entire cabinet, all AAP MLAs and he have decided to donate their one month's salary towards flood relief efforts.

On Friday, political leaders from across parties toured several districts and interacted with flood-affected people. PTI SUN RUK RUK