Heavy rain adds to flood misery in Punjab, several districts on alert

The flood situation in Punjab remained grim today as heavy rain in the upstream areas of the Ravi and Beas led to the water gushing down towards the plains. Gurdaspur and Pathankot remained the worst-hit due to the swollen Ravi. The civil administrations in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala are on high alert. Schools in Amritsar and Jalandhar will remain closed tomorrow.

The water level in Pong, Bhakra and Ranjit Sagar dams is nearing the danger mark, necessitating the controlled release of water. Till late in the evening, 1,21,963 cusecs of water flowed into the Ranjit Sagar dam and 83,472 cusecs was released. While 81,137 cusecs of water flowed into the Bhakra dam, 43,800 cusecs was released in a controlled manner. The highest inflow of water was seen in the Pong Dam at 2,07,544 cusecs, of which 65,761 cusecs was released.

The water level in the Beas was the highest at Passi (near Tanda in Hoshiarpur) at 1.15 lakh cusecs and at Dhilwan (near Sultanpur Lodhi) at 1.67 lakh cusecs. The water level in the Ravi was recorded at 74,730 cusecs at Madhopur (Pathankot) and at 2.93 lakh cusecs at Dharamkot (Gurdaspur).