Punjab Floods Worsen: 1,018 Villages Hit, 61,632 Hectares Of Crops Lost To Floods

The disaster in Punjab is still dismal as unending rains are causing chaos everywhere in the state with more than 1,018 villages submerged and 61,632 hectares of agriculture land swamped. The rivers of Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi are inundated too causing havoc and resulting in the displacement of thousands of people, officials said.  

Twenty-eight districts had heavy damage, officials said. Most badly affected were Gurdaspur (323 villages) then Kapurthala (107), Ferozepur (101), Hoshiarpur (85), Pathankot (81), Sri Muktsar Sahib (64), Tarn Taran (45), Sangrur (22) and Moga (35) as indicated by the death count and missing people which are all low in number. More than 11,000 temporarily living in relief camps, and 8 people lost with 3 of those people missing.

The fall of the Dhussi dam in Ghonewale, Gurdaspur has worsened the catastrophe by engulfing almost 80 villages and drowning Ajnala town.

The agriculture sector has taken the worst hit where tens of thousands acres of crops lay submerged with unimaginable losses of livestock too. The Punjab government is now ramping up relief operations in the districts of Fazilka, Ferozepur, and Kapurthala where there are catastrophic losses. 

 At Tarn Taran’s Harike headworks, the flow was marked at 2.44 lakh cusecs albeit lower than on Friday, the threat is high. The authorities have sounded new warnings as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast additional rain in scattered regions of Punjab during the next two days.

PM Modi Expresses Anguish in Mann ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the 125th episode of his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat on Sunday, expressed deepest grief at the havoc created by the floods and landslides in Punjab and other northern regions. “Houses reduced to rubble, fields inundated, whole families obliterated… these accidents have caused sorrow for all Indians,” he stated.

PM Modi praised the constant efforts of NDRF, SDRF, and security personnel who are working in rescue and relief operations. 

He exemplified how thermal imaging, sniffer dogs, and helicopters have all been used to hasten relief deliveries and save lives. While recognizing the sorrow of flood affected families, the Prime Minister stated, “We all bear the weight of the sorrow of families who have lost loved ones.”

The IMD’s warning of further heavy rain in the regions of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar leaves the authorities with tight deadlines to prevent further loss of life and destruction of property.

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