Breach widens in Tarn Taran, 20K acres in 19 villages under water

Gurbaxpuri

Tarn Taran, August 20

A breach in dhussi bundh on the Sutlej near Ghadum village in Tarn Taran on Saturday with a width of 400 feet had widened to 900 feet on Sunday, leaving fields in 19 villages inundated, affecting 20,000 acres.

Hundreds of families have been uprooted. They have either taken shelter in their relatives’ places or come to seven relief camps established by the administration.

Sukha Singh, head of the Kar Sewa Sect Sarhali Sahib, extending helping hand to the administration’s relief work has deputed around 100 of his followers on the spot for assisting the rescue operation. His team consisting of 900 has started work on plugging the breach, arranged a langar and drinking water for victims’ families.

7 relief camps set up

• Seven relief camps have been established by the administration
• Sukha Singh, head of the Kar Sewa Sect Sarhali Sahib, extending help to the administration in relief work
• He has sent around 100 of his followers to the spot to assist the rescue operation
• A team of 900 volunteers has started work on plugging the breach, arranging langar and drinking water for affected families

His followers had plugged five breaches in Tarn Taran, Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts earlier too.

Not only Ghadum village, the situation in 18 other villages – Kot Budha, Kuliwala, Sabhra, Gullewala, Bhura Hathar, Gadiake, Jalloke, Bhaowal, Bangla Rai, Kalake Uttar, Safa Singhwala, Kot Nau Abad, Talwandi Sobha Singh, Manake Jand, Bahadur Nagar, Jodh Singhwala, Jhugian Kalu and Booh – is no better.

The water overflown from the river has already inundated the 20,000 acres, destroying the crop, yet it could be more, sources said.

Deputy Commissioner Baldeep Kaur said the breach might affect all 39 villages situated along the Sutlej river up to Muthianwala, India’ s last village on the border. She said the priority was to plug the breach within five days.

On the tour to the affected villages, the affected people were seen living atop their houses. Many of them had shifted their house items to the rooftops to prevent damages.

Residents said the riverwater entered their premises so quickly that they could hardly save their costly articles. A majority of the family members slept on the rooftops of their houses last night. Some had been living under trees on National Highway No 54 near Harike. They too were being provided food and drinking water by Sukha Singh’s followers.

The people have been condemning the administration for its failure to supply them drinking water. On the other hand, the administration claim that seven relief camps for the people and two for animals have been set up in the area.