No respite from flood-like situation as Beas, Sutlej still in spate in Tarn Taran

Gurbaxpuri

Tarn Taran, July 21

The flood situation in the Beas and Sutlej river areas has gone from bad to worse in this border district with water level rising in both the rivers. Revenue department sources revealed that water level in the Beas had gone up by one feet as compared to the level on Thursday. Sources said that water was not only entering Beas from the Pong dam but also because of heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh. Sources said it was difficult to gauge the exact level of the water in the river.

People from the affected areas of Khadoor Sahib, Shahkot and Sultanpr Lodhi led by former MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki, Hardev Singh Laddi, MLA Shahkot, and Rana Inder Partap Singh, Independent MLA staged a dharna on Friday at Harike headworks against the state government. The leaders while addressing the affected people condemned the government for not making sufficient arrangements to check the flood threat. The leaders in their meeting with the SDM Patti and officials of the irrigation department demanded that more gates of the Harike headworks be opened for releasing canal water to Rajasthan to save crops and lives.

There are as many as 28 villages in Mand area that have been affected because of the flooding of Beas river. These villages are from Bhalojla to Harike with crop in 28,000 acres getting affected.

At the same time, downstream of river Sutlej towards Harike, the flow of water has gone up to 64,000 cusecs whereas it was 44,500 cusecs on Wednesday. As flood in the Sutlej river was being witnessed for the last three weeks, from Harike to Muthianwala, normal life has been affected resulting in great hardships. Baba Angrej Singh, head Sewadar of Gurdwara Gupatsar Sahib, Muthianwala, said that three days back, water level had receded in the river and people had started moving back to their houses from the places where they had taken shelter but with the water level rising again, they were facing fresh threats. Baba Angrej Singh has been providing boarding and lodging facilities to hundreds of flood affected families. Baldev Singh, brother of Baba Angrej Singh, who has seven and a half acres of agricultural land said his whole swathe had been swallowed by the river and 5-7 feet deep pits had occurred on his land. He said even after normalcy returns, he would have to spend an estimated Rs 25 lakh to make his piece of land cultivable. Baba Angrej Singh said over 150 families have become homeless. The flood situation in the Beas and Sutlej was affecting crop in about 60,000 acres in nearly 60 villages.