Floods inundate schools in Ramdass area

As teams of the district administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) continue with flood relief and rescue operations in over 20 villages in Ramdass area now under water, government schools in the vicinity lie inundated, posing a risk to the recent infrastructure development. Some of these schools had received funds for building and setting up of new infrastructure including classrooms, furniture and upgraded science labs under the Sikhiya Kranti campaign of the state government.

The Government Senior Secondary School, Ramdass, which is now designated as PM Shree school, had last year undergone complete infrastructure overhaul, getting new classrooms, labs and other essential academic and sports upgrade. The school building now has waist-deep water that the teachers and staff braved today to shift the school furniture and other significant learning material on to the first floor of the building. “The boundary wall of our school has been damaged due to rains and flooding and the level of the water is still expected to rise in the coming days. We shifted the furniture and other vulnerable items to the first floor. Last year, the water level was not this alarming. The school had received funds from the Centre and state for building classrooms, boundary walls and three science laboratories,” said Jagdish Kawal, school head, PM Shree GMSSS, Ramdass.

Now, he fears that if the water level continues to rise, some of these latest upgrades might get hit. Government schools in nearby villages, including Macchiwala, Bauli, Nangal Sohal, Nisoke and Jatta Pashian, too lie inundated and damage to the school building is feared. In Amritsar city, the District Education Department is cautious and conducting a review of around 16 school buildings designated ‘unsafe’.

Meanwhile, State Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal today visited the flood-affected areas on the banks of Ravi in Ajnala district. He visited the flood-hit villages and reviewed the relief and rescue operations being carried out by the district administration. He said that the Punjab government is fully prepared to deal with the flood situation and no stone will be left unturned to protect the lives and property of the people.

Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and a district administration team were also present. Talking to the residents of the flood-affected villages, Goyal said that due to continuous rain, the water coming from Ranjit Singh Sagar Dam and Ujh river has damaged the Dhussi bundh on Ravi river at many places, causing about 20 villages bordering the Ravi river in Amritsar to come under the flood threat. Water

level is expected to increase as excess flow from the mountains might add to the flood situation in the area.