Rescue efforts intensified in flood-hit Punjab, boats deployed to evacuate stranded people

Pathankot/Amritsar: Rescue efforts by NDRF, Army, and other agencies are being intensified in Punjab, which is under the grip of massive floods following days of heavy rains. On Wednesday, Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Maninder Singh said boats have been deployed to rescue people stuck in flooded areas of the Ajnala area. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney visited the area to take stock of the flood-like situation because of the rising water level in the Ravi river. A swollen Ravi has inundated many villages near the India-Pakistan border in Pathankot. Several teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in Sujanpur, Atepur and Baheri areas to evacuate people from flooded areas on Wednesday, officials said. Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Aditya Uppal urged people not to panic and asked them to call up a control room number for any support.

He said the NDRF, the Army have been engaged in providing all support in the affected areas. Two relief camps have been set up at Satsang Beas Centre, Pathankot and Gosaipur, officials said. Incessant rains and swollen rivers have submerged many villages and low-lying areas in Punjab. The Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets rose following incessant rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, inundating large swathes of farmland and villages along these rivers. The release of surplus water from the Pong, Bhakra and Ranjit Sagar dams aggravated the woes of villages in several districts of Punjab. The worst-affected villages are in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Hoshiarpur districts. In Pathankot, many villages near the India-Pakistan border were flooded by water from Ravi and other rivulets. The district administration said rescue and relief operations are underway in the area. The Ravi, Ujh and Jalalian rivers were in spate following the release of water from the Ranjit Sagar dam in the wake of continuous rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, officials said. Because of elevated flow in these rivers, many villages, mostly in Narot Jaimal Singh and Bamial blocks, were submerged, inundating large tracts of land. Several ministers have been visiting the flood-affected areas to take stock of the situation and supervise relief and rescue operations.

Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Tuesday had said continuous rainfall in plains and mountainous regions has filled all dams to capacity. He had said the government's immediate priorities include protecting lives and property, minimising damage and delivering relief supplies to affected populations. Due of the heavy flow of water in the rivers and rivulets, there have been breaches in many embankments in affected areas, leading to submerging agricultural fields. Many villagers in affected places are packing their essentials and have started moving to safer places. A central flood control room has been established at the Circuit House in Jalandhar to tackle any possible flood situation in Punjab and to ensure immediate relief in affected areas, said officials.