Having been inundated by floodwater that wreaked havoc in Punjab last month, the state is facing fresh flooding with many areas of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, and Rupnagar districts submerged following the release of excess water from the Pong and the Bhakra dams. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said his government is keeping a close watch on the situation, adding that relief and rescue operations are underway in the flood-hit areas.
Punjab is witnessing floods for the second time in just over a month. Several parts of Punjab were affected by a downpour in the state in early July that flooded vast tracts of farmlands and other areas, paralysing daily life. CM Mann said the situation in Punjab is “fully under control”. He has also asked his ministers to visit the flood-hit areas. Following Mann’s directions, ministers Harbhajan Singh and Bram Shanker Jimpa took stock of the situation in the flood-hit areas of Tanda and Mukerian in the Hoshiarpur district. Singh told reporters that boats have been deployed to evacuate people to safety.
The public works and mining departments are engaged in plugging the breaches of embankments along the Beas. Education Minister and Anandpur Sahib MLA Harjot Singh Bains visited flood-hit areas in Rupnagar district and assured people that there was no need to panic. People trapped in Harsa Bela and Patti Dulchi villages in Anandpur Sahib have been rescued. Mann also said the state government is in constant contact with the Himachal Pradesh government and the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on the release of excess water. Many villagers, carrying essentials on their shoulders, could be seen wading through floo hit areas to move to safer locations. Some even engaged their tractors to take stranded people to safety.