Beas river floods wreak havoc in Punjab’s Mand areas: Crops damaged, villages inundated

The flood situation in the swollen Beas river remained grim today as the water level remained static at 1.16 lakh cusecs, causing damage to standing wheat crops sown over 25 to 30 acres of agricultural land in the Mand areas of Sultanpur Lodhi, according to an official from the drainage department. Drainage Department SDO Khushwinder Singh, when contacted, confirmed that the flood situation remained unchanged in the swollen Beas river, which inundates more than 20 villages.

Meanwhile, followers of Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal strengthened the weak points on the banks of the advance bund near village Ahli Kalan by putting one thousand sandbags to save the bund from the fury of floods. Ahli Kalan farmers Balwinder Singh and Ranjit Singh expressed their gratitude to Sant Seechewal for strengthening the bund at Ahli Kalan and saving their nearly 150 acres of paddy crops from the fury of floodwater.

Meanwhile, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, and Sant Seechewal met flood-affected farmers of the Mand areas on Monday and assured them of relief and compensation. Both of them wrote a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give adequate compensation to affected farmers.