7 days on, breaches in Sutlej affecting 118 Punjab villages yet to be plugged

The administration has plugged-in three breaches out of the total four in Phillaur sub-division while the work is still going on eight breaches, including three at Sultanpur Lodhi and five at Shahkot sub-division.

Breaches in Sutlej river that caused floods and marooned 118 villages in Sultanpur Lodhi, Phillaur and Shahkot in Punjab have not been plugged even after a week.

People distribute food to villagers affected by floods, at Jamaliwala Village, in Firozpur, Punjab, August 21, 2019. (Pardeep Pandit / HT Photo)

As many as 64 villages in Sultanpur Lodhi, 31 villages in Phillaur and 23 in Shahkot were ravaged by floods.

The administration has plugged-in three breaches out of the total four in Phillaur sub-division while the work is still going on eight breaches, including three at Sultanpur Lodhi and five at Shahkot sub-division.

The administration has sought the help of the army to plug all breaches but as per the officials concerned, it would take at least one week to plug all the breaches as the flow of water in the river is still gathering speed.

As per the information, the breaches are at Jania Chahal, Gata, Mandi Kasu, Mandala, Nall villages in Shahkot sub-division and Sarupwal, Tibbi and Bhaoana villages in Sultanpur Lodhi.

The Indian Army on Friday had started the exercise of plugging the biggest 500-feet breach on Sutlej at Jania village in Shahkot sub-division but the work will take at least five days, said a senior administration official.

Local residents said that due to breaches, water continued to enter the villages and hundreds of families were trapped in their houses.

Rural development minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and irrigation minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said that the breaches on Dhussi bandh on Satluj would be fixed soon.

Bajwa said that the army is working on to plug the breach at Jania village while all the breaches in Phillaur sub-division would be plugged within two days.

Sarkaria said that arrangements concerning food, medicines for people and fodder for animals have already been made. The teams of army, NDRF and SDRF have been also pressed into the service.