The death toll in the disastrous floods in Punjab has increased to 46, while standing crops on 1.75 lakh hectares of land have been destroyed. Officials gave this information on Saturday. He informed that relief and rescue operations are being run on a war footing by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Army, Border Security Force, Punjab Police and District Administration.
Punjab is facing the most severe floods in decades. This situation has arisen due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir due to heavy rains, due to the boom of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal drains.
Apart from this, heavy rains in Punjab in recent times have made the situation more serious, which has increased the difficulties of the people.
Officials said the water level of Pong Dam was reduced to 1,394.19 feet on Saturday, although it is still four feet above 1,390 feet. The water level of the dam was 1,394.8 feet on Friday evening.
According to officials, the water flow in the dam on Friday was 99,673 cusecs, which declined to 47,162 cusecs, while the withdrawal remained unchanged at 99,673 cusecs.
The water level was recorded at 1,678.14 feet on Saturday in the case of Bhakra Dam, which was 1,678.47 feet on Friday. This dam on the Sutlej river was 62,481 cusecs and withdrawals 52,000 cusecs.
State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema described the flood as the worst in five decades. He said that continuous rains in Punjab and neighboring hilly states have caused widespread destruction, affecting about 2,000 villages in all districts.
According to the latest bulletin, more than 3.87 lakh people have been affected and 46 deaths have been confirmed. Between August 1 and September 5, 43 deaths were recorded from 14 districts. 1,996 villages from a total of 23 districts have been affected by floods.
The highest seven deaths occurred from Hoshiarpur and Amritsar. This was followed by six deaths in Pathankot, five in Barnala, four in Ludhiana and Bathinda, three in Mansa, two each in Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and SAS Nagar and one each from Patiala, Sangrur, Fazilka and Ferozepur. Three people are missing in Pathankot.
Meanwhile, a 50 -year -old man from Talli Ghulam village in Ferozepur district was swept away in the sharp stream of the boiling river and died.
Officials said that for the last few days, the water level in the district is at a dangerous level and the lives of the people living in the villages have become difficult due to continuous floods. These figures related to floods are from the period from August 1 to September 6.
Officials said that 22,854 people have been evacuated from the affected areas so far.
Cheema said that the backbone of the state’s economy has suffered heavy losses in 18 districts.
Apart from this, infrastructure, houses and livestock have also suffered major damage. He said that the water level of Ghaggar river has also crossed the 750 -foot danger mark.
He said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of the state has taken immediate action on this unprecedented flood and adopted a sensitive attitude.
The minister emphasized the need for accountability and support from the BJP -led central government and said that the crisis requires cooperative response rather than “political opportunism”.
Cheema said that despite the devastation, the Punjab government has taken action in a fast and coordinated manner.
He said that about 200 relief camps have been organized across the state, where more than 7,000 displaced people have been given shelter.
244 NDRF and two SDRF teams are conducting relief and rescue operations with the help of 144 boats.
Punjab Minister Aman Arora on Saturday targeted Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, saying that he was blaming illegal mining in rivers for floods, while BJP leaders visit flood affected areas for “photographs” instead of announcing financial assistance.
The AAP accused the BJP of discriminating against Punjab and said that Chauhan did not declare “one penny” for flood assistance, while the state government has demanded a ‘Lubti’ of Rs 60,000 crore from the Center.
AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh visited the flood affected areas at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district.
At the same time, there has been heavy loss in the low-lying areas of Tanda and Mukerian sub-divisions in Hoshiarpur district, where crops like paddy, sugarcane and maize have suffered heavy damage.
Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain said that a detailed survey is being conducted to assess the damage.
He said that the affected families will be compensated and all the departments are working coordinated to ensure timely relief and rescue operations. He said that the situation is under control.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Kapurthala district Amit Kumar Panchal said that the flow of water in the Beas river was recorded at 1.72 lakh cusecs.
