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Breach in Sutlej banks on Pakistan side floods 7 Ferozepur villages
Teams of the NDRF and the army along with officials of the district administration rushed to the villages to rescue those stranded in the floodwater.
At least seven villages located on the Indo-Pakistan border in Ferozepur district were flooded on Tuesday after a breach in an embankment of the Sutlej at a village in the neighbouring country.
The affected villages include Nihalewala, Ghatti Rajjo Ke, Kamalwala, Jallo Kee and Tendiwala. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the army along with officials of the district administration rushed to the villages to rescue those stranded in the floodwater.
Ferozepur deputy commissioner Chander Gaind, who along with senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vivek S Soni and local MLA Parminder Singh Pinki supervised the rescue operation, said, “We closed the schools today in the flood-affected area. The situation will be reviewed tonight to take a call on the reopening of the schools.”
“Pakistan had created a temporary embankment at Rajiwala village but it got breached after a heavy flow of water that entered the border villages,” said Surjit Singh (34) of Tendiwala village.
“The 5-foot deep water caused huge losses to our paddy crop. If the situation does not improve at their earliest, our houses might be inundated soon,” said Surinder Singh (39), a resident of Ghatti Rajjo Ke village.
“The joint operation was launched to save the lives of people and ensure that there is no loss of life. The police personnel and officials of the state drainage and irrigation departments ensured that all sorts of help was provided to the NDRF and army teams for carrying out the rescue operations,” the DC said.
Efforts were also made to make sure that those evacuated were sent to the relief camps where they will be provided food, treatment and other facilities, he added.
The district education officer (DEO) in a communiqué authorized the principals or headmasters of government schools in the border area to take a call on closing the institutions in view of the flood.
