CHANDIGARH: The flood situation in Punjab has worsened due to incessant heavy rainfall, causing major rivers including the Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, and Ghaggar to swell. Out of Punjab’s 23 districts, 22 have been affected so far.
A total of 1,312 villages are impacted, nearly 3 lakh acres of standing crops have been inundated, and 26 people have lost their lives.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the release of Rs 60,000 crore in state funds that he claims are pending with the Union Government.
Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian confirmed that the 1,312 affected villages include, 93 in Amritsar, 26 in Barnala, 21 in Bathinda, 1 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 92 in Fazilka, 107 in Ferozepur, 324 in Gurdaspur, 86 in Hoshiarpur, 55 in Jalandhar, 123 in Kapurthala, 26 in Ludhiana, 4 in Malerkotla, 77 in Mansa, 35 in Moga, 81 in Pathankot, 14 in Patiala, 2 in Rupnagar, 22 in Sangrur, 1 in SAS Nagar, 3 in SBS Nagar, 74 in Muktsar and 45 in Tarn Taran.
Emergency response teams from the state machinery, along with NDRF, SDRF, the Army, and Punjab Police, are working round-the-clock to protect lives and property.
Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Anurag Verma, after inspecting villages along the Sutlej River in Ferozepur district, reported that nearly 3 lakh acres of land have been affected and around 1.25 lakh people are impacted by the floods.
He added that the government has ordered a special girdawari (crop damage assessment) to provide compensation for crop losses. District authorities have been instructed to gather accurate loss data, and compensation will be disbursed per CM Mann’s directives.
Currently, six NDRF teams are deployed in Gurdaspur and one each in Fazilka, Ferozepur, Pathankot, and Amritsar. Two SDRF teams are operational in Kapurthala. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are assisting in Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, and Pathankot, while BSF teams are engaged in Gurdaspur and Ferozepur. Punjab Police and Fire Brigade are also assisting in Kapurthala and Ferozepur.
Additionally, 15 boats in Kapurthala, 12 in Ferozepur, and 4 in Pathankot are engaged in evacuations, with airlifting operations carried out where required.
So far, 26 people have died in the floods, including an irrigation department employee who fell into the Ravi River last week while trying to open flood gates at the Madhopur barrage.
Sources said that the Ghaggar River is also overflowing due to excess water from the Markanda and Tangri rivers.
Water levels at Chika (Haryana), Khanauri (Sangrur), and Sardulgarh (Mansa) are very high, though still below the danger mark.
CM writes to PM Modi
In his letter to Prime Minister Modi, CM Mann said that Punjab is facing one of its worst flood disasters in decades, with around 1,300 villages and lakhs of people affected. He said heavy rains and dam releases caused severe flooding in Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Hoshiarpur.
He noted that nearly 3 lakh acres of mainly paddy crops are submerged just weeks before harvest. Losses of livestock have also deeply affected rural families.
The Chief Minister emphasized that Punjab has suffered a permanent revenue loss of Rs 49,727 crore due to the GST replacing VAT, with no compensation granted.
Additionally, reductions in RDF and MDF have cost the state over Rs 8,000 crore, and the scrapping of PMGSY projects worth Rs 828 crore has further hurt development.
He also slammed the existing State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, calling them grossly inadequate. Current compensation for crop loss exceeding 33% stands at Rs 17,000 per hectare (or Rs 6,800 per acre). Mann stated the state government already tops this up to Rs 15,000 per acre, but given the extent of devastation, at least Rs 50,000 per acre should be provided. He urged a revision of SDRF norms and assured the Centre that Punjab would continue contributing its 25% share as per scheme guidelines.
The Punjab government has extended school holidays till September 3. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the decision was taken on CM Mann’s instructions to ensure student safety.
He urged parents to prioritise their children’s well-being and requested teachers to stay in touch with district administrations to support community efforts. Schools were originally closed from August 27 to 30.
