Panic grips Shahkot villagers as Sutlej bundh breaches

Even as the inflow in the Sutlej at Gidderpindi came down from 2.1 lakh cusecs in the morning to 1.97 lakh cusecs this evening, residents of Gatta Mundi Kasu village and Dhakka Basti locality (Shahkot) along its banks are living amid fears.

The gushing water from the river has started entering the area through the base of the bundh, which had been built in 2023 when the floods last hit Shahkot. Congress MLA Hardev S Laddi Sherowalia said he had got information from the villagers about the breach in dhussi bundh and reached the spot this evening.

By the time the MLA reached the spot, the villagers had already started readying sacks of sand and putting them along the banks of the river to avoid any further damage. Officials of the Drainage Department and SDM, Shahkot, Shubhi Angra also reached the spot for damage control.

At Sangowal village also along the banks of the Sutlej, the district administration had roped in the Army for help in prevention of damage to dhussi bundh. A big relief for those doing rescue and relief work was that the rain stopped around 1 pm and soon after there was sun bringing a ray of hope for everyone.

This morning, a house in Basti Sheikh had fallen off. The owner of the house had gone to fetch milk from the market. By the time he came back, his house had already started fallen.