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Punjab: Hussainiwala check post inundated, retreat ceremony suspended
Amid the discharge of 2.62 lakh cusecs of water from Harike Headworks and another 2.6 lakh cusecs from Hussainiwala Headworks, as many as 120 villages in two bordering districts— Fazilka and Ferozepur remained submerged under water.
The daily retreat ceremony at the Hussainiwala Joint Check Post (JCP) on the India-Pakistan border in Ferozepur district was temporarily suspended on Friday due to massive flooding caused by the swelling Sutlej River and breaches in the embankments. Authorities said that the suspension would remain in effect until conditions return to normal. The JCP is currently submerged under nearly seven feet of floodwater.
Amid the discharge of 2.62 lakh cusecs of water from Harike Headworks and another 2.6 lakh cusecs from Hussainiwala Headworks, as many as 120 villages in two bordering districts— Fazilka and Ferozepur remained submerged under water.
BSF officials said the suspension was essential to ensure visitor safety and border security.
“The ceremony will resume once water levels recede and conditions stabilise,” said a BSF official who didn’t wish to be named.
The flood crisis worsened on Thursday evening after a major portion of the defence bundh near the international border collapsed, allowing Sutlej waters to surge rapidly into Pakistani territory. The flow rebounded from the Pakistani embankments and inundated the Hussainiwala JCP under nearly seven feet of water. Rising levels have sparked fears of potential damage to the JCP’s security infrastructure if the inflow continues.
More than 100 villages in Ferozepur and about 20 in Fazilka are under water.
“Nearly 100 villages in Ferozepur district have been inundated, deputy commissioner Deepashikha Sharma said, adding that over 3,000 people have been evacuated with support from the army, BSF, NDRF, and Punjab Police.
“Around 350 people are staying in relief camps, while thousands have been provided dry rations. Medical and veterinary teams are active in affected villages, with even a pregnant woman rescued by boat,” she added.
Reports indicate that several villages in Pakistan’s Kasur district have been severely affected, with homes and fields submerged. On the Indian side, villages such as Gatti Rajoke, Bhakhra, and Hazara Singh Wala experienced temporary relief as water receded.
Amid the precarious situation, local authorities, in coordination with security agencies including army, BSF, NDRF and others, are closely monitoring developments and have urged villagers to stay away from riverbanks and shift to safer locations.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring toured the affected areas of Ferozepur with MP Sher Singh Ghubaya and former MLA Parminder Singh Pinki.
Cong MPs, MLAs to donate salaries towards flood relief
Warring announced that Congress MPs and MLAs would contribute a month’s salary or pension to flood relief and vowed to raise the issue in Parliament as well as with the Union jal shakti minister.
