Chandigarh: The people of Punjab, reeling under floods, are closely monitoring the changing water levels of rivers across the state. According to the drainage department’s report on Saturday, the Sutlej river is witnessing a decline in water level, while the Beas river has shown a rise.
The water level of the Beas, measured from the Lohse bridge, began increasing at 6 am. At 5 am, the river carried 1,67,998 cusecs of water, which rose to 1,72,998 cusecs an hour later before stabilising.
In contrast, the Sutlej has brought some relief. At 4 am, the river’s flow under the Gidderpindi bridge was recorded at 1.22 lakh cusecs, which reduced to 1.16 lakh cusecs and further dropped to 1.10 lakh cusecs by 8 am. However, fears remain that more water may be released from dams in the coming days.
No loss of human life has been reported in the past 36 hours, aided by reduced rainfall in Punjab and adjoining hilly areas. So far, 43 deaths have been confirmed in 14 districts. As many as 21,929 people have been evacuated, while 196 relief camps are sheltering over 7,100 people.
In total, floods have damaged 1.72 lakh hectares of farmland across 18 districts, while 3.84 lakh people in 1,948 villages across 22 districts have been affected.
