2,185 villages hit, 53 lives lost: Mundian

Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said the flood situation in the state remained severe with 88 more villages impacted. So far, 2,185 villages in 22 districts of the state have been affected by the floods, with the count of total impacted people reaching 3,88,466.

The Minister said one more casualty was reported from Ferozepur in the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 53. Meanwhile, three persons are still untraceable in Pathankot.

He said 91 people were rescued during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of those rescued to 23,297. Currently, 115 relief camps are operational across the state, accommodating 4,533 people. On the agricultural front, Mundian said around 4.79 lakh acres had been damages in 18 districts.

The Minister said 14 NDRF teams, two SDRF teams, 18 Army columns and one Engineer Task Force are actively deployed in flood-ravaged area. Around 30 helicopters of the Indian Air Force and the Army remain engaged in rescue missions. Besides this, 182 boats have been pressed into service.