Punjab floods: Over 1000 villages, 61000 hectares of farm land affected

Chandigarh, Aug 30 (PTI) Over 1,000 villages, maximum in Gurdaspur districts, and over 61,000 hectares of farm land have been affected by floods in Punjab, officials said on Saturday.

A total of 11,330 people have been evacuated so far to safer places from the flood-hit areas with the combined efforts of the NDRF, Army, BSF and the district authorities.

Punjab is under the grip of massive floods, caused by the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets due to heavy rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Villages worst-affected by the floods were in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts.

State Chief Secretary K A P Sinha on Saturday visited the Pong dam on Beas and flood-affected areas in Mukerian subdivision in Hoshiarpur to review the relief and rescue measures.

Accompanied by senior officials, the chief secretary inspected the dam, where he directed officials to regulate water discharge strictly on technical parameters, keeping in view the inflow, to minimise hardships for people in the downstream areas.

He also asked them to remain vigilant and maintain round-the-clock monitoring.

Officials said floods have so far affected 1,018 villages in the state.

These include 81 in Pathankot, 52 in Fazilka, 45 in Tarn Taran, 64 in Sri Muktsar Sahib, 22 in Sangrur, 101 in Ferozepur, 107 in Kapurthala, 323 in Gurdaspur, 85 in Hoshiarpur, and 35 in Moga, they said.

The state has also suffered huge financial losses due to crop damage and livestock loss.

According to reports from district headquarters, 16,632 hectares of farm land have been affected in Fazilka, 10,806 hectares in Ferozepur, 11,620 hectares in Kapurthala, 7,000 hectares in Pathankot, 9,928 hectares in Tarn Taran, and 5,287 hectares in Hoshiarpur.

A total of 11,330 people have been rescued so far from flood-hit districts.

These include 2,819 from Ferozepur, 1,052 from Hoshiarpur, 240 from Kapurthala, 4,771 from Gurdaspur, 24 from Moga, 1,100 from Pathankot, 60 from Tarn Taran, 25 from Barnala, and 1,239 from Fazilka, they said.

As many as 4,711 flood-affected people were evacuated and shifted to safer places during the past 24 hours, they further said. These include 812 residents of Ferozepur, 2,571 from Gurdaspur, 4 from Moga, 60 from Tarn Taran, 25 from Barnala, and 1,239 from Fazilka.

Currently, 77 relief camps are fully operational out of 87 set up in flood-affected areas, providing shelter to 4,729 people.

The administration is taking care of all the essential needs of these people, said the officials.

In Kapurthala, 110 people are staying in four camps; in Ferozepur, 3,450 people are housed in eight camps; Hoshiarpur has 20 camps with 478 people; Gurdaspur has 12 active camps with 255 people; Pathankot has 14 camps with 411 people; Barnala has one camp housing 25 people; Fazilka has 11 camps, Moga has five and Amritsar has two.

The NDRF, SDRF, Punjab Police and Army are playing a vital role in the operations with active support from local communities.

Seven NDRF teams are deployed in Gurdaspur, one each in Fazilka and Ferozepur, and two in Pathankot. SDRF has deployed two teams in Kapurthala.

The Army, Border Security Force, and the Indian Air Force are also engaged in operations in Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, and Pathankot. Alongside the civil administration, Punjab Police is extending full support to the affected people.

The chief secretary was accompanied by Principal Secretary (Water Resources) Krishan Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain and Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Malik.

Later, Sinha visited the 'Dhussi bundh' -- earthen embankment-- between Haled and Motla villages in Mukerian, and said strengthening of such embankments was being undertaken by the water resources department.

He assured the affected people that the state government was committed to extending every possible help to them.

The DC briefed the chief secretary about the ongoing relief operations being carried out with the support of Red Cross, NGOs and volunteers.

Jain said food, medical aid, relief material and other essential services were being provided to the affected families.

She informed that teams from the revenue, health, animal husbandry, water resources and other departments have been deployed round-the-clock to ensure no affected person faces any shortage of food, medicines or shelter. PTI COR CHS RT