Leave homes, Sultanpur Lodhi villagers in low-lying areas told

The Kapurthala district administration on Sunday asked residents of low-lying villages in Sultanpur Lodhi to immediately leave their homes, apprehending the worsening of the flood situation due to incessant rain in the past 24 hours.

The rain is likely to continue on Monday too, prompting the authorities to sound the alert after the water flow in the Beas was recorded at 2.37 lakh cusecs at 5 pm.

By Sunday night, the water flow had reduced to 2.21 lakh cusecs at Dhilwan barrage, according to officials.

However, officials are fearing the collapse of houses due to another deluge.

According to officials, the worst-hit 20 villages have a population of 4,000 to 5,000.

The administration has shifted 1,290 people from the 20 most-hit villages situated closer to the river in low-lying mand areas so far.

Officials have attributed it to the reluctance among villagers to leave their houses unguarded.

According to a report published in these columns two days ago, the lack of boats has also compounded the problem. Over 100 villages in the district have been impacted by flooding.

The worst-hit villages include Baupur Jadid, Mohammadabad, Sangra, Bhaini Kader Bakhsh and Rampur Gaura in Sultanpur Lodhi.

A day ago, a dhusi bundh (earthen embankment) had been breached by the floodwater at Sultanpur Lodhi’s Chak Patti Balu Bahadar village. On Sunday, teams of the police and the State Disaster Response Force went door-to-door with public address systems, urging people to leave their homes immediately.

Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal appealed to the people to shift to safer places. He visited the Ahli Kalan area and reviewed the facilities at the medical camp set up there. A relief centre has also been set up at Gurdwara Rababsar Sahib in Bharoana. Meanwhile, official said at least 12 houses collapsed in the district due to flooding since August 11.

Five of the houses were situated in Sultanpur Lodhi, three in Bholath and four in Kapurthala subdivision. Tarsem Singh, a farmer, said, “Walls and roofs of houses had developed cracks earlier. But now many houses are on the brink of collapse. Houses can’t withstand stand this new burst of water. The damage may be bigger, it will be clear when water goes down.”

Water also entered at Narur Pasta, Bhungarni and Baghera villages in Phagwara, bordering Chabbewal after embankments of a seasonal rivulet have in.