Punjab flood: Govt says over 2.55 lakh impacted, 29 dead

Chandigarh, Sep 1 (IANS) With 2,56,107 people impacted by floods and 29 dead, Punjab Revenue Minister Hardeep Mundian on Monday said the state has witnessed widespread devastation due to incessant rains and floods, affecting almost the entire state and causing unprecedented damage.

Giving details of evacuation and relief operations here, he said Punjab continued to battle the flood situation with large-scale evacuation and relief measures being carried out across affected districts.

He said as per reports from districts 15,688 people have been evacuated so far.

Major evacuations were reported from Gurdaspur with 5,549 people, followed by Ferozepur with 3,321, Fazilka with 2,049, Pathankot with 1,139, Amritsar with 1,700 and Hoshiarpur with 1,052, besides other districts including Barnala with 25, Kapurthala with 515, Tarn Taran with 60, Moga with 115 and Mansa with 163 people.

Divulging details of lost human lives, the minister said 29 people in 12 districts died from August 1 to September 1.

Mundian said relief and rehabilitation efforts are in full swing with 129 camps established across Punjab to provide shelter to displaced families.

These include 16 active camps in Amritsar, one in Barnala, 10 in Fazilka, eight in Ferozepur, 25 in Gurdaspur, 20 in Hoshiarpur, four in Kapurthala, one in Mansa, nine in Moga, 14 in Pathankot, one in Sangrur and 20 in Patiala district.

Currently, a total of 7,144 people are housed in relief camps across the state.

He said 1,044 villages across 12 districts have been affected.

District-wise breakdown shows as Amritsar (88 villages), Barnala (24), Fazilka (72), Ferozepur (76), Gurdaspur (321), Hoshiarpur (94), Jalandhar (55), Kapurthala (115), Mansa (77), Moga (39), Pathankot (82) and Mohali (one).

The minister said 256,107 people have been affected due to floods with the highest impact reported from Gurdaspur where 145,000 people suffered, followed by Amritsar with 35,000, Ferozepur with 24,015 and Fazilka with 21,562.

Pathankot recorded 15,053 affected individuals, while Mohali and Kapurthala reported 7,000 and 5,650 respectively. Other affected districts include Barnala (59), Mansa (163), Jalandhar (653), Moga (800) and Hoshiarpur (1,152).

On the deployment of rescuers, the Revenue Minister said multiple agencies are providing assistance.

The NDRF has deployed 20 teams.

The Indian Air Force, the Navy and the Indian Army have deployed 10 columns with eight on standby, besides two engineer columns.

Also, 35 helicopters of the Indian Air Force and the Army have been deployed for rescue and relief operations. Border Security Force (BSF) units are deployed on the ground providing additional support.

For rescue operations, 114 boats have been deployed, along with one state helicopter to support evacuation and relief efforts, he added.

--IANS

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