Punjab floods have resulted in severe damage in the state, with thousands of individuals hit. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday stated that special government officials are being deployed in each flooded village. The officials will interact with people directly, listen to their issues, and attempt to solve them in a prompt manner.
The move is made when the situation is worsening. The Sutlej river has caused a part of the Sasrali embankment in Ludhiana to break and has led to heavy inundation in surrounding areas. Now, relief and rescue operations have been taken over by the Army. A portion of the road near NH-44 has been swept away in Pathankot.
The floods have also impacted regions across the border. A Pakistani village and a police outpost along Ferozepur have been inundated by rising water levels.
According to the reports the floods have hit 23 districts of Punjab, including Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Patiala.
More than 1,600 villages are flooded.
Over 3.5 lakh people have been hit.
Up to now, 37 individuals have perished and numerous others are missing.
Crops on almost 1.75 lakh hectares of agricultural land have been lost, severely affecting farmers.
To date, close to 19,500 individuals have been rescued and relocated to safer areas. There are approximately 167 relief camps functioning in the state, with over 1,500 individuals in them. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and the Army are assisting in evacuation and the distribution of food and shelter among stranded individuals.
The Supreme Court has noticed the scenario and has requested that the Punjab government provide a comprehensive report within three weeks. The Chief Justice said, "We have never experienced such rain and floods before."
The Union Minister of Agriculture, Shivraj Singh Chauhan also visited Punjab to control the situation.
He also assured farmers that if crops or livestock were damaged, the central government would provide assistance.
Gulab Chand Kataria, the governor of Punjab, visited flood-affected areas of Hoshiarpur, spoke with families in relief camps, and promised full support. Officials insist that only after the water recedes will the true extent of the damage be known. In the meantime, work is still being done to restore embankments to stop further flooding, save lives, and provide aid to the impacted families. One of the worst flood crises in recent memory is currently plaguing Punjab. Although fields have been destroyed, villages have been submerged, and rivers have overflowed their banks, the state is depending on the combined efforts of the Army, NDRF, and local authorities.
