Relief workers rush to submerged areas

With dozens of low-lying areas submerged, southern districts of Punjab are facing flooding that has displaced thousands of people and inundated hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland because of swelling river flows.

At Ganda Singh Wala near Kasur, water flow in the Sutlej River surged to 195,000 cusecs — categorised as an exceptionally high flood. At Head Sulemanki, the inflow reached 109,000 cusecs, creating a medium-level flood. On the Ravi, water flow at Jassar exceeded 111,000 cusecs, while at Shahdara it rose above 46,000 cusecs.

The Chenab River was experiencing medium flood at Head Marala and water flow in the Indus near Taunsa crossed 500,000 cusecs.

Authorities also issued warnings of flash flooding in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan.

The situation has been exacerbated by India releasing large volumes of water from its reservoirs. The Thein Dam is 85 per cent full, Bhakra Dam is 15 feet below its maximum level, and Pong Dam is at 87 per cent capacity.

In the past two days, over 45,000 cusecs have been released from Bhakra and 57,000 cusecs from Pong, causing rapid rises in the Sutlej and Ravi river flows.

The Meteorological Department forecast another spell of heavy rains from Wednesday to August 31 in Lahore and other parts of central Punjab, warning of further flooding in the river system.

Flooding from the Sutlej has severely impacted Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Vehari Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur. In Kasur, 72 villages have been submerged, affecting more than 45,000 residents, of whom 14,000 have been evacuated to safe areas. The district administration has established 17 relief camps, four medical camps and six veterinary centres.

Across the districts along Sutlej River, 67 relief and 38 medical camps are providing food, medicines and emergency healthcare. More than 17,000 people and 18,000 livestock have been relocated, while 46 veterinary camps are also functioning.

A PDMA spokesperson said the relief operations under way included deployment of 130 boats, 500 rescue workers, 1,600 tents, 1,300 life jackets, thousands of plastic sheets and other essential supplies.