With the Sutlej brimming at its peak in Doaba, the Indian Army has been brought in for strengthening vulnerable points at Dhussi bandh in Jalandhar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts.
On Wednesday, over 2.10 lakh cusecs of water was flowing in Sutlej, highest since the 2019 floods, when it was 2.65 lakh cusecs. During the 2023 floods, even as the river’s water flow remained below 1.60 lakh cusecs, breaches had created havoc in Jalandhar’s Shahkot and Lothian area.
The river’s water-holding capacity, while crossing through parts of SBS Nagar and Jalandhar’s Phillaur, Lohian and Shahkot, before it enters into Ferozepur in Malwa, is less than 2 lakh cusecs water.
With overnight torrential rainfall adding to the authorities’ worries, Jalandhar deputy commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal roped in the services of two army columns, comprising 24 personnel, to oversee the strengthening of crucial points on Dhussi Bandh at Phillaur’s Sangowal village and Shahkot’s Gata Mandi Kasu village.
“Acting promptly, the army has taken control of the embankment, which was facing serious erosion due to heavy rains and high water flow, without any delay,” said Aggarwal.
{{/usCountry}}“Acting promptly, the army has taken control of the embankment, which was facing serious erosion due to heavy rains and high water flow, without any delay,” said Aggarwal.
{{/usCountry}}In SBS Nagar, DC Ankurjeet Singh called for one column of the army to take over the bandh at Dhaingarpur village.
Singh said the army personnel, along with the help of locals, managed to secure the entire stretch of the bandh at Dhaingarpur village after the water level touched 1.25 lakh cusecs on Tuesday evening.
“We have been monitoring close watch on 10 sensitive points vulnerable to breaching due to the high flow,” he said, assuring that the situation was completely under control.
The authorities have appealed the people to remain vigilant and move to safer places in state of exigency.
Chitti Bein submerges 7,200 acres in 20 villages
Meanwhile, nearly 7,200 acres of agricultural land in over nearly 20 villages of Jalandhar Cantonment and Nakodar areas remained submerged in water after Chitti Bein, a tributary of Sutlej river, overflowed in several parts. Farmers are fearing huge losses with 3 to 4 feet water standing in their paddy fields and the water level constantly rising.
“This is for the first time since 1988 that villages situated around the Chitti Bein have been inundated. The people situated in the low-lying areas have started shifting their valuable goods to safer places,” said Sukhbir Singh, a farmer at Kukkad village.
Overall, more than 50 army columns from Western Command have been activated on the ground till now across the flood-affected areas of Punjab and the Jammu-Pathankot sectors.
Relief efforts have been running round the clock, rescuing stranded people, delivering life-saving assistance, strengthening bandhs at vulnerable locations, restoring vital infrastructure, transporting food and fodder to isolated villages and clearing key water channels to prevent further flooding.
So far, over 5,500 civilians and 300 personnel of paramilitary forces have been rescued, more than 3,000 civilians have received medical aid, and over 27 tonnes of ration and essential supplies have been delivered to affected communities.
Troops are continuously supporting the civil administration and the Border Security Force (BSF) in debris clearance and emergency construction tasks.
Caption:
Army personnel, along with villagers, strengthening the embankment of Sutlej river at Dhaingarpur village in Jalandhar’s Balachaur sub-division on Wednesday.