Army help sought as Sutlej maroons Ferozepur villages

The flood situation turned grim in Ferozepur district on Tuesday as the Sutlej water entered homes and fields in at least 60 villages situated near the India-Pakistan border, necessitating a large-scale rescue operation involving the Army and the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF).

According to officials, the administration has identified nearly 10,000 people who need immediate support as currently 2.30 lakh cusecs of water is flowing into the river. They said the situation might turn worse if the rain continues in the catchment areas of the river in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

Three villages near Hussainiwala — Tendi Wala, Dheera Ghara and Kaluwala — were the worst-hit, with the river water submerging the entire fields and entering all houses. The administration launched rescue operations at the three villages on Monday evening with the assistance of the NDRF.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Damanpreet Mann said 198 people had been rescued from the three villages till.

Mann said initially people were reluctant to leave their homes. “They agreed to move to a relief camp set up at a government school in Bare Ke village following the intervention of senior officers ,” he said.

Many people could only take clothes along with them.

Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma said the district administration had called the NDRF Monday night as the situation in some villages had “turned critical”.

“Army’s help has also been sought to expedite rescue operations,” she said. At Gatti Rajo Ke village, large amount of hyacinth was stuck under a bridge, blocking the flow of water.

The administration used earth-moving machines to remove it. “At Hazara Singh Wala village, a bridge was damaged, which was repaired immediately,” he said.

Meanwhile, two pregnant women of Tendi Wala and Kaluwala were shifted to the Civil Hospital.

The deputy commissioner said efforts were being made to rescue pregnant women besides senior citizens, for which 28 health teams had been deployed. Sandeep Goyal, SE Canals, said the water discharge upstream Harike was recorded at around 2.73 lakh cusecs. “At Hussainiwala headworks, the upstream discharge was recorded at over 2.30 lakh,” said Goyal.