Punjab reels under worst flood in 37 years; thousands displaced

Chandigarh: After Jammu and Uttarakhand, incessant rainfall has left Punjab reeling under floods, the worst in the past 37 years, according to official sources. Over 1,000 villages—mostly in Gurdaspur district—and more than 61,000 hectares of farmland have been affected, even as relief and rescue operations gain momentum.

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, reported PTI.

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.

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.

While NDRF, Army, BSF, Punjab Police and district authorities carried out rescue and relief efforts on a war footing in the flood-affected areas, several casualties are feared in the deluge. However, there was no official word on the loss of lives.

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

Several ministers and MLAs were visiting areas ravaged by floods and were taking stock of relief and rescue measures.

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.

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.

Opposition parties alleged that the people of  Punjab were suffering due to the "incompetence" of the AAP government. Some of the opposition party leaders wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a special relief package for the border state.

Minister slams centre
State water resources minister Goyal lashed out at the Centre, holding it responsible for the worst flood in the last 37 years. Goyal claimed that the timely release of water by the BBMB in June could have significantly reduced the devastation.The minister said that even as lakhs of people in Punjab continue to suffer, the prime minister has "not made a single statement on the crisis, let alone extend any support to the state.

He said despite repeated requests, the BBMB "failed" to release adequate water from the dams in June, which could have helped mitigate the impact of floods in Punjab.

The water resources minister also slammed the BJP government in Haryana.

While the neighbouring state, on one hand, sends letters offering help, on the other, it has also communicated that "Punjab be left to drown" by reducing Haryana's share of water flow during this monsoon from 7,900 cusecs to 6,250 cusecs to protect its canal systems and population, thereby leaving Punjab to its fate, he said.

Punjab 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. He later also visited Makora Pattan in the Gurdaspur district.

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.