Fierce rain hits North hard, floods worsen

Punjab remains on high alert due to incessant rain in the state as well as in the catchment areas of the Ravi, Beas, Satluj and Ghaggar in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The resulting surge of water into Punjab’s plains has flooded large tracts of land, displacing people and damaging property.

The rising water levels in these rivers have increased inflows into reservoir dams. The water level in the Bhakra and Ranjit Sagar dams is now very close to the danger mark, while the Pong dam is 4.43 ft above its danger level of 1,390 ft. The Bhakra dam recorded its highest inflow of 1.15 lakh cusecs around noon, while the Pong dam (on the Beas) saw a peak of 2.75 lakh cusecs today. The Ranjit Sagar dam recorded its highest inflow of 1.31 lakh cusecs this morning.

Consequently, outflows from these dams have also increased since yesterday. The water released from the Bhakra dam rose from 65,000 cusecs this morning to 75,000 cusecs by evening. Outflow from the Pong dam increased from 79,719 cusecs to 89,986 cusecs. As the water level in the Ranjit Sagar dam neared its danger mark of 527.91 metres (reaching 527.10 metres), its water release was increased from 49,172 cusecs to 70,417 cusecs. This controlled discharge has nonetheless exacerbated the flooding.

A three-member inter-ministerial central team, constituted by the Centre and led by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Rajesh Gupta, will begin a three-day tour of the state on Thursday to assess the flood situation and damage caused by it. They will start in Amritsar.

All 23 districts in the state are now affected by what is considered the worst flooding in recent history. The most severe impact today was in areas along the Satluj (Ropar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Ferozepur) and Ghaggar (Mohali, Patiala, Sangrur and Mansa) rivers. A major breach in the Satluj embankment near Ropar was reported but plugged in time.

Water levels in Ropar continued to rise throughout the day, reaching 99,052 cusecs by evening. Downstream, the level at Gidderpindi (near Shahkot) was recorded at 1.96 lakh cusecs. After merging with the Beas at Harike, the water level at the Harike headworks was 3.30 lakh cusecs and 3.24 lakh cusecs at Hussainiwala. This is nearly 50,000 cusecs higher than yesterday, raising concerns in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts. The Ghaggar also saw heavy inflows from the Tangri and Markanda rivers, causing water levels to rise at Sarala, Khanauri and Sardulgarh.

Since August 1, 37 deaths have been attributed to the floods. Hoshiarpur reported the highest number at seven, followed by Pathankot (6), Barnala (5), Ludhiana and Amritsar (4 each), and Bathinda and Mansa (3 each). One death each has been reported in Gurdaspur, Ropar, Mohali and Sangrur, while four people in Pathankot are missing. Standing crops on 4.37 lakh acres have been submerged, 1,655 villages have been hit and 3.55 lakh people have been affected. A total of 19,474 persons have been evacuated by the civil administration, police, State and National Disaster Response Forces, Army, Air Force and the BSF.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has convened an emergency Cabinet meeting for Friday to discuss the flood situation and review relief and rescue operations. Most of his ministers and party MLAs are currently stationed in various flood-affected areas. Punjab declared itself a disaster-affected state last night.

Late at night, as panic spread among residents along the Sutlej, Education Minister Harjot Bains urged calm. He said no more water would be released from the Bhakra dam overnight and the situation would be reviewed again in the morning.