Flood situation turns grim in Punjab; Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers in spate

The flood situation in Punjab worsened on Wednesday, with the Ravi river overflowing and causing a breach in its banks in Amritsar district. As a result, many areas of the district near Ajanala, along the river banks, submerged under water.

The holy city, meanwhile, continued to experience rain till early morning, causing widespread flooding on roads and streets and throwing normal life out of gear.

According to information available, the water level in the Ravi river was recorded at 4.60 lakh cusecs early Wednesday morning, causing flooding in areas of both Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts, besides Amritsar.

With the water level in the Ranjit Sagar dam on the Ravi river having crossed the danger mark of 527.91 meters, the water from the reservoir will continue to be released in a controlled manner. Around 1.95 lakh cusecs of water was released from the dam on Tuesday. More water is expected to be released from the dam today. Controlled water releases from two other dams -- Bhakra and Pong-- will also be effected.

The flood situation also remained grim in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka where both the Beas and Sutlej rivers were in spate.

While schools across the state have been closed till August 30 because of floods caused by incessant rains, the state government has already issued warnings to people residing in villages along the river to be prepared for any eventuality. Civil administration, Army, police, and state disaster relief force are all on alert. Relief camps have also been set up to evacuate people from flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be touring Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts today to take stock of the flood situation and oversee relief and rescue operations. Mann has also formed a committee for flood management, besides setting up a central flood control room in Jalandhar.

Ministers Dr Balbir Singh, Gurmeet Singh Khudiya and Barinder Kumar Goyal will monitor flood situation across the state. While ministers Mahinder Bhagat and Hardeep Singh Mundian have been asked to remain in Kapurthala and oversee the relief and rescue operation, Laljit Singh Bhullar and Harbhajan Singh ETO have been asked to monitor situation in Tarn Taran. Dr. Baljit Kaur and Tarunpreet Singh Sond have been given charge of Fazilka.