Several Punjab districts on high alert

Several districts of Punjab were put on high alert on Tuesday after incessant rain lashed most parts of the Malwa region, while heavy showers in the catchments areas caused Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers and seasonal rivulets to overflow, flooding villages downstream.

The Majha belt comprising Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Pathankot districts was the worst affected. In Dharamkot (Gurdaspur), the Ravi outflow touched 4.4 lakh cusecs, while Ujh barrage recorded 1.45 lakh cusecs by evening.

Breaches were reported along the Ravi embankments near Dinanagar and Narot Jaimal in Pathankot. Officials said the water was expected to flow towards Amritsar late at night, necessitating caution for residents and the administration.

Chief Secretary KAP Sinha held an emergency meeting with the deputy commissioners and senior officials of the Water Resources Department. Instructions were issued to cancel the leave of all officers in the flood-affected and flood-prone districts to ensure there was sufficient manpower for rescue and evacuation.

The reservoirs of two of Punjab’s three dams—Ranjit Sagar and Pong—crossed the danger mark, necessitating the controlled release of water. Against its maximum capacity of 1,731.98 feet, the water level in Ranjit Sagar Dam was recorded at 1,732.25 feet, forcing the authorities to release 1.95 lakh cusecs of water.

The Pong Dam level stood at 1,390.95 feet, slightly above its maximum capacity of 1,390 feet. As a result, 79,592 cusecs of water had to be released. Controlled release of 43,800 cusecs was also done from Bhakra Dam, though its level was still below the danger mark of 1,680 feet.

As water came gushing down, about 1.58 lakh acres of farmland in villages downstream the Ravi and the Beas were inundated. Train services between Pathankot and Jalandhar were affected due to erosion near the Chakki bridge over the Beas.

A senior official said a few villages in Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala) and Tanda (Hoshiarpur) remained submerged because of the overflowing Beas. The water outflow stood at 2.6 lakh cusecs at Harike and 2.38 lakh cusecs at Hussainiwala, leading to a grim flood situation in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka.

A red alert for very heavy rainfall has been issued for Sangrur, Ludhiana, Mansa, Barnala and Moga.

“The police and district authorities are evacuating affected villagers to safer locations, providing them food, water and medical supplies. Field officers, DCs and SSPs are overseeing relief efforts and fully cooperating with the NDRF, SDRF and the Army. In Pathankot, helicopters were used to rescue stranded people,” said Special DGP Arpit Shukla.