CHANDIGARH: The floods in Punjab has claimed 24 lives so far. The flood situation continues to remain grim with 1,018 villages affected and standing crops in 1.51 lakh acres (61,273 hectares) remaining under water in nine districts of the state due to the surging Ravi, Beas and Sutluj rivers.
The state has suffered huge financial loss due to crop damage and livestock deaths.
As per reports from district headquarters, 16,632 hectares of land have been affected in Fazilka, 10,806 hectares in Ferozepur, 11,620 hectares in Kapurthala, 7,000 hectares in Pathankot, 9,928 hectares in Tarn Taran, and 5,287 hectares in Hoshiarpur.
Currently, 77 relief camps are fully operational out of 87 set up in flood affected areas, providing shelter to 4,729 people.
The administration is taking care of all the essential needs of these people.
The Ravi river continued to flow at 4.60 lakh cusecs, well above the danger level at Dharamkot in Gurdaspur district.
The water levels at the Madhopur and Ujh barrages receded to 39,000 cusecs and 7,700 cusecs, respectively.
Both the BJP and the Congress party have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a special relief package.
The leader of opposition and senior congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa, in his letter, demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a special central relief package, to provide compensation to the next of kin of the victims and farmers who suffered crop loss.
Among other things, he also sought assistance for reconstruction of damaged roads, schools and homes and the launch a long term flood management plan for Punjab including strengthening embankments, delisting rivers, and coordinating water release with neighboring states.
He also appealed to the PM to personally visit the state to witness the scale of devastation and reassure the affected families.
Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar has also written a letter to PM Modi, urgently requesting central assistance. He emphasized the need for additional and immediate assistance given the severity of the disaster and urged the Prime Minister to deploy central assessment teams to evaluate the ground situation and announce a special relief package to address the immediate needs of Punjab’s flood-affected people.
Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Capt Amarinder Singh said that the devastating floods have shaken the entire state of Punjab, causing unprecedented damage to life, agriculture, and infrastructure.
While almost every region has been affected, the most severe impact extends from Bhoa Assembly to Fazilka, along with Kapurthala district, Tarn Taran, Amritsar. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately announce a special relief package for Punjab and to deploy additional central forces to assist in the ongoing rescue and rehabilitation operations.
"Timely assistance is crucial so that affected families and farmers are not left to suffer in silence. Punjab’s economy, already under stress, cannot withstand this scale of destruction without urgent intervention from the Centre,” he said.
Punjabi singer Satinder Sartaaj has sent one month's ration for 500 families of the flood-affected border sub-division Ajnala.
Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney instructed her team of volunteers to deliver these materials to the needy.
Another Punjabi singer Jasbir Jassi and Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, too, have announced relief for the flood-affected area. She said that drones were being used to reach out to people whose houses were submerged in the waters of the Ravi river in Ramdass area. She along with officers was today at Harar Kalan village in Ajnala and stated that the distribution of relief material had been started in the affected villages of the border subdivision.
The district administration has also set up relief centres for animals in Chamyari and Ajnala Dana Mandi. Amid the ongoing flood situation in Punjab, acting Jathedar of Akal Takht (Highest Temporal seat of Sikhs) Giani Kuldip Gargay appealed to all the people to stand by one another in this difficult time and extend help to those in distress. He stressed that the real reasons behind the recurring floods in Punjab must be probed and then reasons should be made public so that the people of the state could be prepared for future natural calamities and concerted efforts be made to avoid or mitigate it.