23 dead, 1,018 villages hit, 16K rescued as Punjab sees worst floods in decades

As many as 23 persons have died in devastating floods that have ravaged 1,018 villages across Punjab over the past week. While 16,039 people have been rescued from flood-affected districts as of Friday evening, the state’s AAP government has started assessing losses and dispatching relief materials to those still stranded in inundated villages.

As per information gathered by The Tribune, eight deaths were reported in Pathankot, seven in Hoshiarpur, three each in Rupnagar and Barnala, and two in Gurdaspur over the past week. The three fatalities in Barnala were due to heavy rains earlier this week, while the others lost their lives after their houses were washed away or they were swept away by the raging waters of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann chaired a meeting to assess the critical situation in eight severely affected districts --Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur and Fazilka. He constituted a high-powered committee to oversee relief and rescue operations conducted by the state government, Army, BSF, Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force.

Mann directed Chief Secretary KAP Sinha to accelerate relief efforts, noting that an unprecedented discharge of 14.11 lakh cusecs of water in the Ravi caused the most damage.

Social Security Minister Dr Baljit Kaur said her department was ensuring the safety of affected people, especially senior citizens, children and women, and was coordinating with the Health Department to prevent water-borne disease outbreaks.

While water levels in the Ravi and Beas have begun receding in the Majha and Doaba regions, Punjab braced for flooding in Patiala and Sangrur as water surged down the Ghaggar following overnight rain in its catchment area. The water level was recorded at 70,000 cusecs at Bhankharpur this morning but receded quickly, bringing relief to residents and administration in Mohali and Patiala by afternoon. However, by early evening, water levels in the Tangri and Markanda rivulets began rising, putting the Patiala administration on alert. Water flowed toward Sardulgarh, where it exceeded the 30,000 cusecs mark.

Another area of concern for the government was Dharamkot in Gurdaspur, where the Ravi continued to flow at 4.60 lakh cusecs, well above the danger level. A total of 323 villages in Gurdaspur and 81 in Pathankot have been affected by floods, with the civil administration, police and central forces continuing rescue operations. Water levels at the Madhopur and Ujh barrages receded to 39,000 cusecs and 7,700 cusecs, respectively. In Amritsar, water levels receded in the Ramdas area but flowed toward Ajnala, causing concern among rescue teams. At least 15 villages in the district were affected.

Politicians from various parties visited the affected districts, urging their cadres to assist people in distress. They included AAP leaders Laljit Singh Bhullar, Raghav Chadha, Kuldeep Dhaliwal and Tarunpreet Singh Sond; BJP's Sunil Jakhar; Congress leaders Charanjit Singh Channi, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Partap Bajwa, and Gurjit Singh Aujla; and SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal. Several farmer unions, including BKU (Ugrahan), Kirti Kisan Union and BKU (Ekta Dakaunda), also sent members to assist in relief and rescue efforts.

Water levels have started receding in Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts, though it will take several days for the situation to normalise. The Beas recorded 1.80 lakh cusecs at Passi (near Tanda) and 2 lakh cusecs at Dhilwan.

In another positive news, water levels in all three major dams -- Pong, Ranjit Sagar and Bhakra – has begun receding. Controlled water releases were conducted from all three dams. While water levels at Ranjit Sagar and Bhakra remain below the danger mark, the Pong Dam remained full at 1,391 feet, above the danger mark of 1,390 feet, necessitating the release of 1 lakh cusecs of water.

Amid the ongoing “water war” between Punjab and Haryana over river water sharing, the Punjab Government wrote to the governments of Haryana and Rajasthan on August 22, urging them to accept additional water due to flooding in Punjab.

While Haryana didn’t initially respond, a senior official in the Punjab Water Resources Department stated that a letter was received from a senior Haryana official on Friday, asking Punjab to slow the release of water toward Haryana, as its own rivers were now in spate.