Chandigarh, Sep 7 (PTI) With two more persons losing their lives, the death toll in Punjab due to devastating floods went up to 48 while crops on 1.76 lakh hectares have been damaged, said officials on Sunday.
All schools, colleges and universities in Punjab will reopen from September 8, Education Minister Harjot Bains said on Sunday, days after educational institutions across the state were closed due to the deluge — the worst in over three decades.
If any school or college is affected by floods, the decision on its closure will be taken by the respective deputy commissioner, the minister said.
Private schools can reopen from September 8, but in government schools, classes will resume from September 9.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia said farmers will be allowed to extract sand that has been deposited in their fields following the worst floods that struck Punjab, stating that the accumulation of silt in agricultural fields was the biggest concern of growers for sowing the next crop.
Relief and rescue operations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Army, Border Security Force, Punjab Police and district authorities are underway on a war footing in the affected areas, they further said.
The water level in the Pong dam dropped by about two feet to 1,392.20 feet, though it remained two feet more than its upper limit capacity of 1,390 feet on Sunday evening, said officials.
On Saturday, the water level in the Pong dam, built on the Beas river, was 1,394.19 feet.
Water inflow in the dam dropped to 36,968 cusecs from 47,162 cusecs on Saturday, while about 90,000 cusecs were being released into the Shah Nehar barrage, officials said.
Water level in the Bhakra dam on Sunday was 1,677.98 feet as against 1,678.14 feet on Saturday. The water flow in the Bhakra dam, built on the Sutlej river, stood at 66,891 cusecs, and the outflow was 70,000 cusecs, the officials said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Punjab on September 9 to take stock of the situation, BJP state unit chief Sunil Jakhar said.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was hospitalised on Friday after he complained of exhaustion and low heart rate, has been monitoring the relief and rescue operations.
He convened a meeting with the Chief Secretary K A P Sinha, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav and other senior officers.
During the meeting, Mann was apprised that as of Sunday, 3,87,898 people have been directly displaced and overall 20 lakh people in 2,050 villages across all 23 flood-affected districts have been impacted.
So far 22,938 people have been evacuated from the worst affected areas, he was told.
In addition, the state government has set up 219 relief camps in which over 5,400 people have been accommodated.
While 48 people have lost their lives so far, three persons are reported to be still missing in Pathankot district, said the CS.
AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh visited flood-affected border villages of Fazilka and said Punjab has been battling floods for nearly a month, yet the Centre continues to wait for reports instead of providing immediate relief.
He expressed hope that during his visit, the PM would announce a substantial relief package for the affected areas.
Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal visited Makrour Sahib Bridge and Tohana Bridge near Moonak in Sangrur, where he met residents of several Ghaggar-side villages.
Punjab is currently facing one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The floods are a result of swollen rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi — along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Besides, heavy rains in recent days in Punjab have also intensified the flood situation, aggravating the challenges faced by residents. PTI CHS AMJ AMJ
