Officials said that the terrible floods in Punjab have killed 46 people and devastated 1,996 villages across 23 districts. The flooding, which was caused by rivers like the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi swelling up and heavy rain falling in their catchment areas in nearby Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, has caused a lot of damage.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Punjab Police, and district officials are all working together to help people in need and save lives. More than 22,854 people have been moved out of the areas that were affected thus far. There are more than 200 aid camps where more than 7,000 people who have lost their homes can stay.
A message that came out on Saturday said that the floods have affected more than 3.87 lakh people. The districts of Hoshiarpur and Amritsar have the most deaths, with seven in each. Pathankot (six deaths), Barnala (five), Ludhiana and Bathinda (four each), and other badly affected areas are also on this list. Three more persons are still missing in Pathankot. The data about the flood is from August 1 to September 6.
The water levels in the Pong and Bhakra dams have gone down a little, but they are still very high. The water level in the Pong dam is still four feet over its highest point, and the water level in the Bhakra dam is also close to its danger mark.
The problem has also caused a fight between the state and central administrations. Harpal Singh Cheema, the Punjab Finance Minister, called the floods the worst in 50 years and said that the BJP-led Center has not helped enough. He said that the problem needs a “collaborative response” instead of “political opportunism,” and he asked the Center to give the state “pending” funding of ₹60,000 crore. Sanjay Singh, an AAP member of the Rajya Sabha who went to the flood-hit districts, told people that the state government is completely dedicated to supporting them.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said that illicit mining in rivers was to blame for the flooding in a remark that went against the first one. Punjab Minister Aman Arora quickly responded by saying that BJP leaders were only going to the afflicted districts for “photo ops” instead of announcing financial help.
The state is having a hard time dealing with the tragedy, and the agriculture sector has suffered a lot of harm. 1.75 lakh hectares of farmland have been devastated, which is a big problem for the state’s economy because it depends so much on agriculture. The water level in the Ghaggar River has also gone above its danger limit, which makes things worse.