All 23 districts in India’s Punjab have been declared flood-hit by the state government. At least 30 people have lost their lives, and over 350,000 people have been impacted by the flash floods, according to a bulletin issued by the state authorities on Tuesday.
The Punjab government has extended the closure of schools and colleges till September 7 due to the floods, said education minister Harjot Singh Bains, ANI reported.
Dam reservoirs continued to remain full to the brim while the rivers were flowing near the danger mark, leading to alerts in several districts.
Punjab is facing its worst floods since 1988. The swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets have flooded large parts of the state following heavy rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
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Over 1,400 villages have submerged. Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar, and Rupnagar (Ropar) are among the worst-hit districts.
Deaths were reported across 12 districts with Pathankot reporting the highest death toll of six. Nearly 20,000 people have been evacuated from the flood-hit areas so far.
Over 148,590 hectares of standing crops have been damaged, Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said.
To aid relief and rescue operations, the state has mobilized multiple agencies. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 20 teams, while the Army, Navy, and Air Force have deployed 10 columns, with eight on standby, along with their respective engineer units. More than 35 helicopters are engaged in rescue efforts, supported by 114 boats and one state helicopter. The Border Security Force (BSF) has also been deployed in affected border regions, ANI reported.
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