A fresh breach in the seasonal Ghaggar river embankment inundated dozens of villages in the southern Punjab district of Mansa amidst heavy downpours early on Sunday morning.
State irrigation department officers tasked with minimising the impact of the flooding said, “A new 20 feet breach close to Mansa Town has caused water from already flooded upstream areas to enter several villages in the area. Rescue teams are trying hard to fill the gap but the task is difficult because of the heavy discharge of water.”
Chief engineer (irrigation) Amarjit Dulat has assured affected villagers that the situation would be brought under control within hours. Officials however admitted that fresh precipitation could complicate matters.
Though Punjab and most of the flood-affected districts of Patiala, Sangrur and Ludhiana got only moderate amount of fresh rainfall on Sunday, the Met office predicts “Thundery storms along with heavy showers on Monday.” Fresh rain is likely to compound the already precarious situation in southern Punjab, officials said.
Notably, Punjab’s deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has already notified a loss of Rs 350 crores worth of crops and public assets to the Central government. According to him more than 20 people have lost their lives in the floods.
The situation in neighbouring Haryana however appeared to be improving with extended sunshine hours. The deputy commissioner of the worst affected Ambala district, Samir Pal said relief and rescue was on track and the situation was “totally” within the control of the state administration.