Meanwhile, Army and NDRF teams evacuated over 200 people from flood-affected Mand areas in Sultanpur Lodhi city
Published Jul 12, 2023 | 8:54 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 12, 2023 | 8:54 PM
BSF rescuing people from flood affected areas in Punjab. (Twitter)
The Punjab government has shifted about 10,000 people to safer places from their water-logged localities in the state, following the heavy rain over the past three days.
The authorities said on Wednesday, 12 July, that they were focused on relief work.
According to government data, the death toll due to rain-related incidents in Punjab and Haryana is 18, with 11 casualties in Punjab.
In Punjab, nearly 10,000 people have so far been evacuated in Patiala, Rupnagar, Moga, Ludhiana, Mohali, SBS Nagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, the officials said.
The weather remained clear at most places in the region for the second day on Wednesday, after three days of incessant rains.
In a tweet, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said he is taking regular updates on the rain situation.
ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਪਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਸਥਿਤੀ ਦੀ ਹਰ ਪਲ ਦੀ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਦੇ ਆਧਾਰ ਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਸ਼ਾਸਨ ਨੂੰ ਅੱਪਡੇਟ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ..ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵਿਤ ਇਲਾਕਿਆਂ ਚ ਹਰ ਕਿਸਮ ਦੀ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਕਰਨੀ ਸਾਡੀ ਪਹਿਲ ਹੈ..ਸਾਰੇ ਡੈਮ ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਅਤੇ ਖਤਰੇ ਦੇ ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨ ਤੋਂ ਕਾਫ਼ੀ ਥੱਲੇ ਨੇ..ਉਮੀਦ ਹੈ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਚ ਅੱਜ ਸ਼ਾਮ ਤੱਕ ਹਾਲਾਤ ਕਾਫ਼ੀ ਸੁਧਰ ਜਾਣਗੇ..ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ ਕਿਸਮ ਦੇ…
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) July 12, 2023
“All the dams are safe and well below the danger mark. Our priority is to provide all kinds of assistance to the most affected areas,” he said in Punjabi.
“Hopefully, the situation in Punjab will improve by this evening,” Mann said, adding that his government stands with the people and would compensate for any kind of loss.
The death toll due to rain-related incidents in Punjab rose to 11 on Wednesday, with three latest fatalities reported from the Faridkot district.
Although Haryana’s death toll stands at seven, officials said the numbers may go up as more deaths were reported in the state on Wednesday.
“Three bodies were found in Haryana’s Ambala, while one more person died of electrocution in the district while wading through the flood waters,” an official said.
The heavy rainfall has left behind a trail of destruction with properties worth crores obliterated and farmlands flooded.
Relief measures are going on a war footing in the affected areas of the two states. Permanent medical camps have also been set up at affected regions.
Drones, boats and other equipment were deployed by the Sangrur administration to support the army and NDRF for proper evaluation of the breach in the Ghagger River.
In Punjab worst-hit Patiala district, senior officials of the district and police administration are coordinating relief efforts.
Patiala Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney and Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma were coordinating relief efforts with the army and teams of NDRF and State Disaster Response Force to ensure the safety of affected residents.
Meanwhile, Army and NDRF teams evacuated over 200 people from flood-affected Mand areas in Sultanpur Lodhi city of Punjab on Wednesday, officials said.
Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Karnail Singh said the district administration shifted the rescued 223 people to relief camps, where they are being provided with ration, drinking water and other items of need.
“NDRF, Punjab Police and Army personnel have been working round the clock to evacuate people from flood-effected areas. Yesterday, the NDRF rescued 59 people,” he said.
Singh said the personnel from the Army and the police also evacuated 30 more people from different areas to safe places.
He said the administration provided dry as well as green fodder to people for their livestock. A team of veterinary doctors is also vaccinating domesticated animals, he added.
Renowned environmentalist and ruling AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal and his followers were assisting the authorities to plug a 100-foot-wide breach on the bundh near Mandala village with the help of sandbags.
Seechewal told PTI that it was a very difficult task to plug the breach as the flow of gushing water was very high and that they are concentrating to strengthen the bundh near the breach to check further erosion. He added that the breach would be plugged when the flow in the Sutlej River decreases.
Relief measures were going on a war footing in Punjab and Haryana in affected areas on Wednesday as many parts of the two states remained flooded following incessant rainfall in the region.
The government has set up relief shelters in several districts in Punjab and Haryana.
State disaster management teams, NDRF and various government departments with the help of the army have been engaged in relief and rescue operations.
(With PTI inputs)
