25 Sultanpur Lodhi villages on alert as incessant rain raises Beas level

More than 25 villages in Sultanpur Lodhi have been put on alert as the Beas water level rose by a few inches today.

With continuous rainfall in the region since the wee hours and release of water from Pong Dam, the volume of water in the already swollen Beas rose to 1.40 lakh cusecs today. Farmers in the island village of Baupur and its periphery remained on tenterhooks.

In the wake of heavy rains in the hills, which contributed towards the raised Beas water level, Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal urged people in the Mand area to exercise caution, while assuring that the administration was continuously monitoring the situation.

Residents raised concerns over the accumulation of silt in the river at the Goindwal bridge, which they claimed was slowing down the flow of water out of the area. Crops on thousands of acres in the area have been submerged.

Nishan Singh, a resident of Passan Kadim village, said, “Crops on at least 400 acres at our village have been destroyed due to floodwater. Most of the water released from Pong Dam accumulates in our region. There is heavy accumulation of silt at the Goindwal bridge, which is 8 km from our village. Desilting will help in letting the water flow from this area to the Harike Headworks.”

During his visit to flood-hit villages, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had also issued directions for carrying out the desilting work in the area.

Khushminder Singh, SDO, Drainage Department said, “Water accumulation at the Dhilwan gauge was 1.30 lakh cusecs yesterday, which has increased to 1.40 lakh cusecs today. Nearly 75,000 cusecs of water had earlier released from Pong Dam, which was reduced to 60,000 cusecs on Saturday. Today, the inflow of water from Pong Dam was further reduced to 12,000 cusecs. However, due to heavy rains in the hills and accumulation of water at Chakki, the water level of the Beas is expected to rise tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, relief centres have also been set up by district administration at the government schools in Lakh Warian, Sultanpur Lodhi and Mand Kuka for the residents of the Mand area. Medical camps are also organised by a boat ambulance. A permanent medical camp is being held at a government school, 500 metres from the main bundh at Baupur.