Mansa: Another breach, water enters Sardulgarh town

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Mansa, July 18

The floodwater entered Sardulgarh town of Punjab’s Mansa district today as a new breach, the fifth over the past four days, occurred on the Ghaggar embankment at Phus Mandi.

There was panic all around as the Ghaggar water rushed towards Sardulgarh, which is 5 km from Phus Mandi. The residents started arranging sandbags outside their houses and shops in an attempt to keep the floodwater out. During the day, the district administration and villagers too had made attempts by preparing temporary embankments of soil with the help of tractors and JCB machines on the Sardulgarh-Sirsa main highway in Sardulgarh, which connects Punjab with Haryana. Deputy Commissioner Rishipal Singh and SSP Nanak Singh also visited Phus Mandi. Rishipal said the situation was being monitored round the clock.

On Monday night, a small breach at Kalipur Dum village was plugged before it could get wider. Nine relief camps have been set up in Sardulgarh for the affected people. Twenty-eight families of Birewala Dogra village, flooded due to a breach in Chandpura bundh (in Haryana) four days ago, have been shifted to relief camps in Budhlada. Sardulgarh MLA Gurpreet Singh Banwali said that apart from the breaches, a blast in the irrigation pipeline between Phus Mandi and Sadhuwala was to be blamed for the flooding. He said this had happened due to a human error and officials of the drainage department were on job to rectify it.

Budhlada MLA Budha Ram said the Haryana Government had given permission to plug the Chandpura bundh breach. Fearing trouble on its side, the Haryana Government had earlier imposed Section 144 at the Chandpura bundh site.

Clashes in Fatehabad

• As the Ghaggar continues to be in spate, the floodwaters triggered inter-village clashes in parts of Sirsa and Fatehabad districts as villagers fought to keep the water out.

HP: Shepherds stuck

• A large number of Gaddi shepherds are stranded in the higher reaches of Bara Bhangal valley in Himachal after bridges built over rivers were damaged in flashfloods.