Chandigarh, August 31:
Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister S. Hardeep Singh Mundian, on Sunday, informed that so far 14,936 people have been evacuated to safer places from flood-affected areas across the state.
He said the entire state machinery along with NDRF, SDRF, Army and Punjab Police personnel are working tirelessly round-the-clock to safeguard lives and property. Giving district-wise details, the Cabinet Minister said 1700 people have been rescued in Amritsar, 25 in Barnala, 1599 in Fazilka, 3265 in Ferozepur, 5456 in Gurdaspur, 1052 in Hoshiarpur, 362 in Kapurthala, 163 in Mansa, 115 in Moga, 1139 in Pathankot and 60 people have been rescued in district Tarn Taran.
S. Mundian further said that the number of relief camps has also been increased alongside the evacuation drives. Currently, 122 relief camps are operational in affected districts sheltering 6,582 affected people.
Giving district-wise breakup, the Cabinet Minister said 16 camps have been set up in Amritsar, 1 in Barnala, 7 in Fazilka, 8 in Ferozepur, 25 in Gurdaspur, 20 in Hoshiarpur, 4 in Kapurthala, 1 in Mansa, 5 in Moga, 14 in Pathankot, 1 in Sangrur and 20 in Patiala. All Deputy Commissioners have been directed to ensure availability of essential supplies in these camps, he added.
S. Mundian said that district Amritsar camps are sheltering 170 persons, Barnala 25, Fazilka 652, Ferozepur 3987, Gurdaspur 411, Hoshiarpur 478, Kapurthala 110, Mansa 163, Moga 115, Pathankot 411 and Sangrur 60.
While expressing gratitude to NDRF, SDRF, Army, Punjab Police and NGOs for standing firmly with the government in this critical time, the Cabinet Minister informed that at present, 6 NDRF teams are deployed in Gurdaspur and one each in Fazilka, Ferozepur, Pathankot and Amritsar. Similarly, 2 SDRF teams are operational in Kapurthala. The Army, Navy and Air Force have also been pressed into service in Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur and Pathankot while one BSF team each is carrying out relief works in Gurdaspur and Ferozepur. Punjab Police and Fire Brigade are assisting the administration in affected areas of Kapurthala and Ferozepur. He said that 15 boats in Kapurthala, 12 in Ferozepur and 4 in Pathankot are engaged in evacuations and wherever needed, airlifting operations are being executed.
The Revenue Minister informed that so far a total of 1312 villages have been impacted by floods across Punjab. These include 93 in Amritsar, 26 in Barnala, 21 in Bathinda, 1 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 92 in Fazilka, 107 in Ferozepur, 324 in Gurdaspur, 86 in Hoshiarpur, 55 in Jalandhar, 123 in Kapurthala, 26 in Ludhiana, 4 in Malerkotla, 77 in Mansa, 35 in Moga, 81 in Pathankot, 14 in Patiala, 2 in Rupnagar, 22 in Sangrur, 1 in SAS Nagar, 3 in SBS Nagar, 74 in Sri Muktsar Sahib and 45 in Tarn Taran.
