New Delhi (Agency): In a successful rescue operation on Thursday, Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams managed to save nearly 300 people who were stranded in flooded villages in Punjab’s Kapurthala district.
Kapurthala’s Deputy Commissioner Karnail Singh reported that six teams from the NDRF and Army deployed six boats to evacuate the people caught in the floods. All the individuals who were rescued have been safely shifted to relief camps.
According to Karnail Singh, a total of 22 villages have been affected by floods in the Beas river. This flooding occurred because of the release of excess water from the Bhakra Dam. The Deputy Commissioner expressed hope that the situation would improve by Friday.
In some cases, the rescue efforts faced challenges. Some flood-affected people were living inside “dhusi bundhs” (embankments) in “deras” to look after their fields, while nearly 40 people were unwilling to leave their stranded houses and cattle.
This week, several parts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Rupnagar, and Kapurthala districts became submerged following the release of excess water from both the Pong and Bhakra dams. Army and NDRF teams were assisting with rescue and relief work in some of the affected areas, including Gurdaspur district.
In addition to the rescue missions, medical teams in the district were sent to houses by boats to check on individuals who had been stuck in their homes for three days. This included those who didn’t want to move out, said officials.
The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which is responsible for managing the Bhakra and the Pong dams, announced on Wednesday that it would release excess water in a “controlled manner” for the next four to five days. This plan aims to bring the water levels in the reservoirs to a safe limit.
Both the Bhakra dam on the Sutlej river and the Pong dam on the Beas river, located in Himachal Pradesh, are currently brimming due to heavy rain in their catchment areas.
This flood event follows a downpour in the state between July 9 and 11 last month, which also affected several parts of Punjab. The rainfall flooded vast areas of farmlands and other regions, causing disruptions to daily life.
The coordinated efforts of the Army and NDRF teams in Kapurthala district are a crucial part of the broader response to the flooding in Punjab. The ability to rescue and relocate those affected, even those reluctant to leave their homes, highlights the commitment and capability of the rescue teams. With ongoing attention to safety and continuous relief work, the authorities are working hard to mitigate the impact of the floods and help the affected communities recover.