Flood destroys wheat in Multan, wreaks havoc in Uch Sharif

LAHORE, MULTAN, SUKKUR (Dunya News) – Devastation caused by floods is visible across Punjab, as millions of rupees’ worth of wheat was destroyed in Multan, while in Uch Sharif, a widow with six children has been forced to live under the open sky.

In the village of Khokhran, Uch Sharif, Fazila’s husband drowned while trying to move livestock to a safer place during the flood. The livestock was swept away, their belongings and house were also lost to the floodwaters, leaving the family without shelter or food, on the verge of starvation.

Meanwhile, in Alipur and Seetpur, alleged negligence by PASSCO officials led to the destruction of wheat worth millions of rupees. Two major PASSCO centers in Seetpur were submerged in floodwater, damaging thousands of wheat bags. Despite PDMA’s prior flood warnings, officials failed to take timely precautionary measures.

On the other hand, inflow at the Kotri Barrage on the Indus River has further increased.

According to the Flood Forecasting Division, Guddu Barrage is facing a low-level flood, but the flow has reduced to 240,000 cusecs. At Sukkur Barrage, the water flow has also returned to normal, while at Kotri Barrage it has risen to 376,000 cusecs.

After Tarbela, Mangla Dam is also nearing full capacity and has now reached 98 percent, with space left for storing just two more feet of water.

Moderate to low-level flooding continues in the Sutlej River.

DG PDMA Punjab, Irfan Ali Kathia, stated that water flow in Punjab’s rivers has returned to normal, except in the Sutlej, where moderate to low-level flooding persists.

In the flood-affected areas, water levels are steadily declining.

At Ganda Singh Wala on the Sutlej River, the flow is 83,000 cusecs, while at Sulemanki it is 81,000 cusecs.

On the Chenab River, the flow is 36,000 cusecs at Marala, 29,000 cusecs at Khanki Headworks, 25,000 cusecs at Qadirabad, and 31,000 cusecs at Head Trimmu. At Panjnad, the flow has reached 111,000 cusecs.

On the Ravi River, the flow is 6,000 cusecs at Jedar Jhetrar, 5,000 cusecs at Shahdara, 24,000 cusecs at Balloki Headworks, and 26,000 cusecs at Head Sidhnai.

No flow has been reported in hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan Division, while relief and rehabilitation activities continue in flood-affected areas.