Punjab: Several districts under grip of floods; rescue operations intensified

Punjab remained in the grip of severe floods as villages across several districts continued to be inundated despite intensified rescue and relief operations by state and central agencies.

The worst-affected areas include Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar. Officials said scores of residents were evacuated to safer places as rising waters from the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers, swollen by heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, inundated vast swathes of farmland and settlements.

Major rescue operations

In Gurdaspur’s Daburi, 381 students and 70 teachers stranded at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya were rescued by teams of the NDRF and BSF after floodwaters rose 4–5 feet inside the campus. The school principal has been served a notice for not sending children home despite a declared holiday.

In Pathankot, the Indian Air Force airlifted 60 irrigation officials who were deployed to open the gates of the Madhopur barrage. One officer remains missing. Officials confirmed that two gates of the Madhopur Headworks on the Ravi river have been damaged. On Tuesday, the flow at the barrage was 2 lakh cusecs, which has since reduced to 62,000 cusecs.

The Indian Army Aviation also carried out a high-risk helicopter mission in Pathankot, rescuing stranded civilians and CRPF personnel from a building that collapsed shortly after their evacuation. Several localities, including Sujanpur, Malikpur and Budha Nagar, were severely flooded.

In Amritsar’s Ajnala area, water from the Ravi breached an embankment, submerging 20 villages. Deputy commissioner Sakshi Sahwney, who is overseeing relief work, appealed to people to shift to safer places.

In border district Ferozepur, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated over the past 48 hours as the Sutlej waters rose sharply. Twelve relief camps have been set up in villages including Bagge Wala, Bare Ke and Fatte Wala.

Dam levels rising

The Pong dam’s water level stood at 1,393.68 feet on Wednesday — three feet above Tuesday’s level and higher than its upper limit of 1,390 feet. Inflow and outflow were recorded at 94,845 cusecs.
At Bhakra dam, the level was 1,671.90 feet, nine feet below the danger mark, with inflow of 59,442 cusecs and outflow of 43,882 cusecs.

Government response

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann visited flood-hit areas in Gurdaspur and directed the use of a state government helicopter to deliver relief supplies. He has also deployed his entire cabinet across affected districts to monitor evacuation, distribution of essentials and overall rescue operations.

“Our top priority is to save every life and protect every property,” finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said while reviewing relief efforts.

Despite the relentless operations by the Army, NDRF, SDRF, BSF and state agencies, officials said the situation continues to remain grim in many parts of Punjab.

With PTI inputs