Chandigarh: Nine districts of Punjab, including Fazilka, Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, Moga, Gurdaspur and Barnala, are in the grip of floods. According to official data, 1,018 villages have been affected so far.
Eleven teams from the government, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Army are carrying out relief and rescue operations in Pathankot, Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar.
Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has announced a holiday in all schools across the state till September 3 due to the flood situation.
Meanwhile, the rise in the Ravi river’s water level on Sunday caused a breach in the Dhussi dam at Gonewale in Gurdaspur, flooding Ajnala town, about 15 km away. At least 80 villages have been submerged.
In Mansa’s Jawaharke village, a wall of a brick kiln warehouse collapsed due to rain, killing 58-year-old farmer Jagjivan Singh who was passing by on a bicycle. CCTV footage of the accident has surfaced. In another incident in Sangrur, the roof of a house caved in, killing 60-year-old Karmjit Kaur and leaving her daughter Mandeep Kaur and son-in-law Sukhpal Singh seriously injured.
Amid the crisis, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking immediate release of ₹60,000 crore from the Centre for flood relief and rehabilitation.
The Meteorological Department has issued a rain alert until 1:30 pm. Several areas have been receiving rain since morning, and Kali Bein in Sultanpur Lodhi is flowing above the danger mark.
