Groom rides tractor-trolley to wedding in flooded Hoshiarpur

The deluge failed to dampen the spirits of a groom in Khanaura village of this district on Wednesday as he and around 20 'baraatis' rode a tractor-trolley through nearly 1.5 km flooded stretch before travelling another 3 km to board cars to reach the bride's village in Jalandhar.

More than 100 villages in Hoshiarpur district are affected by floods.

The groom, along with relatives and friends, also stopped at the shrine of Baba Shah Doot for blessings before continuing their journey.

Villagers said knee-deep water was still flowing through Khanaura, making it difficult for vehicles to pass.

"We had to shift the groom and the 'baraatis' on a tractor-trolley as cars could not enter the village," said Kewal Singh, uncle of the groom. He added that many relatives from nearby villages could not join the wedding due to heavy rains and flooding.

After the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom also returned home the same way, on the trolley, crossing floodwaters.

Meanwhile, officials said the overall flood situation in the district was under control even as water levels in the Pong dam rose further on Wednesday due to heavy rains in the catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh.

The water level stood at 1,394.32 feet in the evening, above the danger mark of 1,390 feet with an inflow of 1,40,196 cusecs. Outflow into the Shah Canal barrage remained at about 80,000 cusecs, they said.

Stretches of farmland in several villages of Tanda and Mukerian subdivisions remained inundated, damaging standing paddy, sugarcane and other crops.

Villages including Gandhowal, Rara Mand, Talhi, Salempur, Abdullapur, Mewa Miani and Fatta Kulla in Tanda, as well as Motla, Haler Janardhan, Sanial, Kolian, Naushehra and Mehtabpur in Mukerian, are among the worst affected.

According to the district administration, 119 villages have so far been declared flood-affected --? 31 each in Garhshankar and Mukerian, 22 in Dasuya, 25 in Tanda and 10 in Hoshiarpur subdivisions. Nearly 5,971 hectares of farmland has been damaged.

Out of 1,966 affected people, 1,615 have been evacuated to safety. Five relief camps are functioning across the district, housing 1,041 people, the officials said.

The administration said 32 houses, including two pucca houses, have been fully damaged, while 24 others suffered severe damage and one was partially damaged. Two cattle sheds were also destroyed.

Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain said compensation would be provided after assessment of losses, adding that all departments were working in coordination to ensure timely relief and rescue operations in flood-hit areas of the district.

She said the overall situation was under control and assured all possible assistance.

Hoshiarpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate Gursimranjeet Kaur on Wednesday visited flood-hit villages in Chabbewal constituency, including Khanaura, Phuglana, Harta, Badla, Simbli and Rajpur Bhaiyan.

She met affected families and distributed relief material such as ration, drinking water, tarpaulins and other essentials.

Kaur directed officials to ensure uninterrupted health services, veterinary care and clean drinking water in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner, citing safety concerns due to heavy monsoon rains, has imposed a complete ban on bathing in rivers, seasonal rivulets and canals, and on walking along their embankments across the district.