Sutlej, Ghaggar in spate; toll rises to 29

With Sutlej and Ghaggar in spate, the Aam Aadmi Party government today accused the Centre of turning a blind eye towards massive devastation caused by floods in Punjab.

A total of 29 people have lost their lives and crops on 4.01 lakh acres have been submerged.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema slammed the BJP for failing to come to the aid of Punjab, while accusing them of holding political rallies in the state.

He said despite limited resources, the AAP government had been undertaking relief and rescue operations in 12 flood-affected districts.

“Instead of holding rallies, the state BJP leadership should stand up for Punjabis and urge their top brass to change norms for disaster relief,” said Cheema, adding that every AAPleader was on the ground to help the needy.

Though inter-ministerial central teams constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs to assess flood damage are yet to reach here, Home Minister Amit Shah is learnt to have dialled Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann this morning and reportedly asked him about the flood situation. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Mann late evening. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has also started visiting flood-affected areas.

Meanwhile, incessant rains in most parts of the state added to the flood fury, with both Ropar and Ludhiana being on the edge.

While water flow into the Sutlej swelled by 1,00,000 cusecs at Ropar, Buddha Nullah overflowed in Ludhiana. The swollen Sutlej also became a cause for concern in Ropar and Nawanshahr.

As the water starts flowing southwards towards Harike, where a confluence of the Sutlej and Beas takes place, flood situation in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka could aggravate in the next 48 hours. The water flow into Harike was recorded at 2.70 lakh cusecs. Excessive rains in the catchment areas of the Beas and Ravi in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir led to flooding in eight districts —Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur.

Further, water flow into the Ghaggar has gone up to 45,343 cusecs in the past two days. As a result, Dera Bassi, Patiala and Mansa have been hit hard.

Crops on 534 acres in Dera Bassi, 1,750 in Patiala and 55,607 acres in Mansa have been submerged. During an emergency meeting of the Bhakra Beas Management Board held last night and today, the state government clearly pointed out that additional water cannot be released from the dams.

Officals contribute Rs 50 Lakh

Excise Department officials contribute Rs 50 lakh towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to assist flood-hit Punjabis.

Punjab Local Government Minister Dr Ravjot Singh contributed his 1-year salary towards the the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund