Hundreds of acres of land submerged as Sutlej continues to swell

People trapped in the Sutlej river are being transported by 14 boats

Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar (Dunya News) - Flood in the Sutlej river has breached the dyke protective embankment of Jalalpur, inundating hundreds of acres of land and triggering evacuations of the affected people and their livestock.

According to the rescue officials, people trapped in the Sutlej river are being transported by 14 boats.

The flash flood wreaked havoc in the riverine belt of Ahmedpur Sharqia, destroying standing crops on thousands of acres of land. Similarly, dozens of establishments were also inundated in Bahawalnagar.

Contemporary Situation of Punjab Rivers. Medium level flooding situation in Sutlej River..#FloodAlert #PDMA #StayAlertSaySafe pic.twitter.com/W9yxKZm3Pv

— PDMA Punjab Official (@PdmapunjabO) August 28, 2023

On the other hand, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said flood persisting in the Sutlej river and moderate flood at Ganda Singh, Sulaimanki and Head Islam. He said water flow at Ganda Singh is 108,000 cusecs.

The inflow of water at Head Sulaimanki is 98,878 and the outflow is 85,014 cusecs, he said adding the flow of water at Head Islam is 82,916 cusecs.

He said a moderate flood has been witnessed at Mailsi Siphon, while the flow of water in other rivers of Punjab is normal.

Monsoon rains are likely to continue till Sep 4 and heavy rains are expected in the upper parts of all major rivers, he added.

On Monday, strong water currents of Sutlej River breached many protective dykes in Bahawalpur and adjacent areas inundating a number of villages sending a panic wave among residents of the localities.

At Empress bridge water flow was 130,000 cusecs which flooded Weaslan, Sahlan and Lal De Goth settlements. However, the administration had moved the residents along with their livestock to safer place well before time. But standing crops over a vast area were flooded.

Flood level fell to medium at Islam Headworks and Ganda Singh Wala in Sutlej River.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the PDMA said the authority was closely monitoring the situation and relief measures were under way in the affected districts.

The PDMA spokesperson said 970 people were rescued in Bahawalnagar, Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Lodhran, Vihari and Bahawalpur from August 23 to 26;

32,000 people benefited from medical camps established in these districts; 175 relief camps were set up in the affected areas; and rations were distributedamong 300 flood-affected families.

The spokesperson said 21,000 cattle were moved to safe places from affected areas. Till Sunday, 480 villages remained affected by the flood situation in Punjab, he added.

Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed said life was returning to normalcy and the displaced people would return to their homes soon too.

“All possible steps are being taken to restore the flood-affected areas. According to the instructions of the caretaker chief minister, the restoration of the flood-affected areas is the first priority,” he was quoted as saying by the PDMA statement.

The statement said he directed administrative officers to remain present in the field at all times, adding that negligence towards their duty or lack of responsibility would not be tolerated.