Punjab floods: Kapurthala rail parts manufacturer builds boats for relief, rescue efforts

Chandigarh: At a time when boats are the only means to access several flood-hit areas in Punjab, a Kapurthala-based firm is making and delivering boats to supplement relief efforts in the state, which is battling the worst deluge since 1988.

Pritpal Singh Hanspal, whose firm Hanspal Traders is engaged in manufacturing railway coach parts for the Rail Coach Factory, said he was just doing "sewa" (voluntary service) by giving boats to those in need of them for conducting relief and rescue operations in flood-ravaged districts.

"We have so far given 50 boats in just one week," Hanspal told PTI.

As the water level is high in flood-hit villages, he has been receiving numerous calls for boats, Hanspal added.

Hanspal said he has also made the design and drawing of a boat public, so that some small factories or those engaged in making iron gate grills could also easily manufacture boats.

A small boat can accommodate 8-10 people, he said.

"We are also making a big boat which is called 'berra' and it will be of a 20-tonne capacity. It will be helpful in evacuating farmers and their livestock to safer places," said Hanspal.

He further said his firm had made boats in 2023 when floods struck Punjab.

Hanspal said his firm has been manufacturing boats despite 60 per cent of his staff being on leave because of flooding.

Punjab is currently facing one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The floods are a result of swollen rivers, the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Additional heavy rains in Punjab have intensified the flooding situation, aggravating the challenges faced by residents.

The deluge has claimed 37 lives so far and impacted over 3.55 lakh people. Crops over 1.75 lakh hectares of land have perished in the floods, officials stated.

Villages worst affected by the floods were in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts.

Many areas and farmlands have transformed into ponds that are 8-10 feet deep because of the swollen rivers. It is the boats that can be used to reach the flooded villages to provide relief material and rescue affected people.

Relief and rescue operations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Army, Border Security Force, Punjab Police and district authorities are underway in the affected areas, officials said.

The state authorities, NDRF, the Army, several Sikh organisations and NGOs have deployed their boats for conducting rescue and relief operations.