Punjab, Haryana villagers protest tardy relief work

Power outages, drinking water shortage and slackness in relief and rescue measures are causing resentment in flood-hit areas of Haryana even as fresh breaches have been reported in the Satluj-Yumuna link.

Power outages, drinking water shortage and slackness in relief and rescue measures are causing resentment in flood-hit areas of Haryana even as fresh breaches have been reported in the Satluj-Yumuna link.

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Governor Jagannath Pahadia and CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda reviewed the situation and relief measures. Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal decided to keep schools in the district shut on Friday. More villages in Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts have been flooded.

Residents of flood-hit Shahbad, which has gone without power and water for nearly 48 hours, blocked traffic on the National Highway to protest against shortage of power and drinking water. They are angry at the slow pace of relief and rescue operations in Kuruksehtra and Ambala districts.

Though the water level receded in some parts of Ambala, two fresh breaches occurred in the Satluj-Yumuna link (SYL) canal in Kurukshetra, flooding several areas. The two breaches at Udarasi and Mukimpur are threatening to submerge villages and vast stretches of cultivated land. The authorities have been struggling to plug the first breach in the SYL at Jogna Khera village. The flood situation in Punjab worsened after three breaches were reported in the Hansi-Bhutana canal in Samana area of Patiala.