Sleepless nights for many as river swells

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 19

Though the district administration had announced that the situation was totally under control, many people in various villages spent last two days and nights out of their houses to keep a vigil on the swollen Sutlej river while making efforts to avoid floods.

Residents at Bholewal Qadim village, where a 70-foott-long breach took place in the wee hours, said a number of villagers spent night on the banks. People were doing their best to avert chances of floods in absence of any help from the administration, they added.

Members of the Sanjhi Panchayat Naujawan Sabha of Allowal and Bholewal villages made efforts on their own by off loading soil and sand to strengthen the river banks. 

They also tried to repair the breach on their own, but did not succeed due to lack of sources, said a panchayat member of Allowal village.

A number of villagers, whose houses were located in the fields near Sutlej, came out of their houses along with their cattle and necessary articles. Some of them shifted their beds on roadsides to protect themselves from floods.

The situation was almost similar at Kasabad village where hundreds of villagers stepped up their efforts to avoid floods. 

A farmer, Ravinder Singh Dhalilwal said, water was flowing at the danger level in the Sutlej river. It was flowing one foot below danger mark last night, he added. The administration had sent a machine to move soil to the banks, but it developed a snag, he said. Later, farmers placed sand bags on the river banks to avoid flooding, he added. “We could not sleep for a minute last night. We did not get full support from the administration,” he said.

The situation at Khaira Bet remained stressful as the people kept watching on the water flow in the river. There are reports that the worried people in villages near Machhiwara, Walipur, Mattewara, Bholewal Jadid and others remained alert last night. However, the district administration authorities had advised them not to create any panic, stating that the situation was “under control”.

According to information, many people were also going to spend Monday night at the banks of the river.