The Punjab government has declared all 23 districts of the state to be flood-affected as heavy rainfall and swollen rivers continue to wreak havoc. The devastating floods have claimed 30 lives so far and impacted more than 3.5 lakh residents, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
The floods are a result of the swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, which are carrying excess water from heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The calamity has hit Gurdaspur the hardest, with 324 villages submerged. Pathankot has recorded the highest number of fatalities at six, and three people remain missing in the district.
Massive Rescue Efforts and Rising Losses
The scale of the disaster has triggered a large-scale, multi-agency response. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 23 teams across the state, while the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy have also been mobilized to assist with rescue and relief missions. Over 19,500 people have been evacuated to safer areas, with the largest number of evacuations taking place in Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, and Amritsar.
The agricultural sector has been particularly hard-hit, with a staggering 148,590 hectares of crops submerged under water. In a bid to secure sufficient relief for the victims, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has urged the central government to revise the current “unrealistic” disaster relief norms. He has called for a compensation of at least ₹50,000 per acre to cover the devastating crop damage.
Schools Closed, Political Leaders Visit
In light of the ongoing crisis, Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has announced that all schools and colleges in the state will remain closed until September 7. He urged residents to strictly follow the guidelines of the local administration.
Meanwhile, political leaders are also stepping in. The Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, is scheduled to visit the flood-affected areas on Thursday, accompanied by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, to take stock of the situation and interact with the victims. Kejriwal has also announced that AAP leaders from Delhi will be dispatching trucks of relief supplies to assist with the ongoing efforts.