The flood threat loomed large in the villages of Gurdaspur block as heavy rain lashed the entire northern region on Sunday. Following heavy rains, Ravi and Ujh rivers overflow at Makkoran Pattan in Gurdaspur area where the two rivers meet.
Alarmed, the Gurdaspur Administration asked the people living in low-lying areas near the Ravi river to move to safer places as the water level rose following incessant rains. The State Government has asked the Army and the Border Security Force (BSF) to be on standby.
Notably, Kashmir Government on early Sunday had released about two lakh cusecs of water into the Ujh river. The water of Ujh river flows in the Jammu and Kashmir region and joins the Ravi river. On reaching here, where the two valleys meet, the water flow is very fast, and the surrounding villages are threatened with flooding.
Gurdaspur District Administration has asked Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) of Dera Baba Nanak, Kalanaur, and Dinanagar to alert people and evacuate people living in empty spaces inside Ravi river.
Gurdaspur Additional Deputy Commissioner Nidhi Kumud Bamba visited Makora Patan and nearby villages to take stock of the situation, the officials said. The Administration has also evacuated people and their livestock from areas near the Ravi river. Announcements were made using loudspeakers asking the inhabitants to vacate the area.
Bamba said that the District Administration has made adequate arrangements to deal with the situation and asked the people living near the river to remain alert. She also appealed to them not to go near to the river bank.
A relief centre has also been set up at a government school to accommodate villagers residing near Makora Patan.
Various teams have been formed to deal with the flood-like situation. Adequate arrangements have been made for medicine, food, fodder, boats and life jackets, the officials said.
The officials concerned have also been asked to carry out round-the-clock monitoring of the situation. The administration has set up flood control rooms in Gurdaspur, Batala, Dera Baba Nanak and Dinanagar.
Sukhbir demands girdwari, release of compensation to those whose houses destroyed due to incessant rain
Muktsar: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today demanded immediate girdwari be done to assess the damage caused to standing crops o cotton and paddy in this as well as Fazilka, Ferozepur and Mansa districts besides release of compensation to those whose houses had been destroyed due to incessant rain.
Sukhbir, who visited flooded villages in Lambi, said that it was shocking that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had not even given directions to officials to make arrangements to drain flood water from fields and houses. He announced that he would give funds for the same from his personal and MPLAD funds besides urging SAD workers to spray insecticides and medicines in affected villages to stop the spread of diseases.
SAD chief, who visited a dozen villages, said that even as thousands of acres of land had been destroyed, people were waiting for relief from the government since the last 15 days. “There is no power. Diseases are on the rise. Even now nothing is being done to drain out water from affected areas,” he said.
Squarely blaming the government for the current crisis, Sukhbir said that no effort had been made to clean drains prior to the monsoons. “AAP government had only given lip sympathy to farmers during the last four months. Nothing concrete has been done for farmer welfare with no compensation being paid to cotton farmers affected by white fly attack...Even though the Chief Minister encouraged farmers to take up Moong cultivation and announced a minimum support price of Rs 7,275 per quintal, the pulse was selling at rates between Rs 4,500 to Rs 5,000 per quintal,” he said.