Several villages in Gurdaspur remain flooded following the rise in water levels in the Beas river. NDRF teams which reached the flood hit area on Tuesday night, began rescue and relief operations on Wednesday morning.
Rescue operations to evacuate people from several inundated areas of Gurdaspur, Punjab,has begun by the National Disaster Response Force, said the officials on Wednesday. Following heavy rain in its catchment areas, the Pong Dam on Beas river is up to the brim. The water level in the Beas river subsequently rose after the release of water from the Pong dam on Tuesday, said Himanshu Agarwal, Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner.
A breach in embankment along the river has flooded several villages, including Chechia Chorian, Pakhowal, Kherha, Dalelpur, Padana, Chhina Bet, Nadala, Jagatpur Kalan, Kohlian and Khariaan, he added. People living in the low-lying areas and near the banks of the Beas river have been instructed to move to safer place by the district administration.
Villagers were seen crossing through flood-hit areas, carrying essentials on their shoulders, to other places. Some even employed their own tractor-trolleys to transport those stranded in the flooded areas to guarded areas.
Several teams of the district administration were already engaged in the rescue and relief operations, said the deputy commissioner. He further added that the NDRF teams reached on Tuesday night and began rescue operations next morning.
The Indian Army and the Border Security Force teams were also engaged in the rescue operations , said Aggarwal. Having appealed to people to cooperate he assured them that the district administration was prepared to deal with any predicament. Following the submergence of the Mukerian-Gurdaspur road, vehicular traffic has been diverted from the Mukerian bridge to the Dinanagar highway ,the deputy commissioner added.
A relief camp in Purana Shala school along with medical, veterinary and other departments has been set up to take over the relief operations. Aggarwal re-instated confidence as he asked the people to not panic and seek any assistance through the provided helpline number.