Punjab floods: Thousands stranded on rooftops as rescue, relief ops intensify

Heavy floods in Punjab left thousands stranded on rooftops as swollen rivers breached embankments, damaging crops and homes. NDRF, Army, BSF and IAF stepped up rescue and relief missions in districts including Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar and Ferozepur.

Chandigarh: Thousands of people in Punjab spent the night on rooftops after the breaking of embankments of tributaries and overflowing of swollen rivers caused by incessant rain and the release of dam waters, which have also damaged newly planted paddy crops in large areas, officials said on Thursday.

Families who have been trapped on the rooftops of their houses are awaiting rescue and relief material from the administration. They also need fodder for the cattle, rue locals. Most of the worst-affected districts, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Pathankot, are located along the India-Pakistan border.

---

The other districts marooned by floodwater are Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ropar, Anandpur Sahib and Fazilka, impacting families who have lost homes, farmers lost crops, and people, largely villagers, are suffering greatly.

Even several Border Security Force (BSF) check posts on the international border were either washed away or damaged in the flood.

Flood rescue operations involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army and the district administration have been intensified, an official told IANS on Thursday.

Affected villagers blamed the district administrations for their lack of preparedness ahead of the monsoon season.

In a display of valour and coordination, BSF troops in Ferozepur carried out flood rescue operations in scores of villages, saving distressed locals from the rising Sutlej waters. Also, the BSF rescue team responded swiftly on Wednesday when floodwater entered the nearby Army camp.

Acting on an urgent call from Army personnel, the BSF rescue team rushed to the site and safely evacuated six Army personnel along with weapons and special equipment.

“BSF’s prompt action not only protected lives but also ensured critical military assets were secured in this crisis situation,” said the BSF in a post on X.

The Indian Air Force has been carrying out extensive relief and rescue missions in Punjab. IAF helicopters evacuated 46 stranded civilians as flooding intensified in Pathankot. Further, over 750 kg of essential relief material was air-dropped to support local communities.

In the Dera Baba Nanak area in Gurdaspur district, 38 Army personnel and 10 BSF personnel were rescued by winching them up a high-stakes operation by the IAF.

Three floodgates of the Madhopur headworks near Pathankot broke owing to gushing water.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has asked all Cabinet Ministers, MLAs and officers to stay in their respective areas and reach out to the needy people in this hour of grave crisis.

Eco warrior and Member of Parliament Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who came into the global limelight after reviving the almost dead 160-km-long Kali Bein, a rivulet sacred to the Sikhs, has reached up to flood-affected people in Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts.

He, along with his volunteers, has been moving in boats from house to house to provide relief material to the affected people.

Sant Seechewal’s volunteers are also helping the local administration in plugging the breaches and in rescuing people. More than 400 villages, mainly in Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts, have been badly hit by the swollen Satluj River.