Chandigarh, September 9:
Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister S. Hardeep Singh Mundian, on Tuesday, informed that the flood situation in the state has worsened further during the past 24 hours with 33 more villages, 133 more people and 6988 hectares of crops affected. The cumulative tally now stands at 2097 affected villages across 22 districts with the population hit touching 3,88,092.
The Revenue Minister said that one more life was lost in Ludhiana during the past 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 52 across 15 districts. Three persons continue to remain missing in Pathankot.
In terms of rescue operations, S. Hardeep Singh Mundian said that 191 more people were evacuated within the last 24 hours, raising the total to 23,206. The highest evacuations so far have been reported in Gurdaspur (5581), Fazilka (4254), Ferozepur (4012), Amritsar (3260), Hoshiarpur (1616), Kapurthala (1428) and Pathankot (1139). Remaining districts are Barnala (738), Jalandhar (511), Mansa (178), Moga (155), Rupnagar (313) and Tarn Taran (21).
The Minister informed that 119 relief camps are presently operational in the state, sheltering 5521 people. Currently, Fazilka has 14 camps with 2946 people, Barnala 43 camps with 638 inmates, Hoshiarpur 4 camps with 921 people, Moga 3 camps with 155 persons, Mansa one camp with 15 affected persons, Amritsar 16 camps with 51 persons, Ferozepur 5 camps with 202 persons, Gurdaspur 13 camps with 10 persons, Jalandhar 18 camps with 453 persons, Ludhiana one camps with 47 persons and Sangrur one with 83 affected people.
On agriculture losses, S. Mundian highlighted that the total crop area damaged has touched 1,91,926.45 hectares across 18 districts, up from around 1.84 lakh hectares reported a day earlier. Gurdaspur remains the worst affected with 40,169 hectares followed by Amritsar (27,154 hectares), Fazilka (19,037 hectares), Kapurthala (17,574 hectares), Patiala (17,404 hectares), Ferozepur (17,257 hectares), Tarn Taran (12,828 hectares), Mansa (12,207 hectares), Hoshiarpur (8322 hectares), Sangrur (6560 hectares), Jalandhar (4800 hectares), Pathankot (2442 hectares), Moga (2240 hectares), SAS Nagar (2000 hectares), Rupnagar (1080 hectares), Bathinda (586.79 hectares), SBS Nagar (188.3 hectares) and Ludhiana (76 hectares).
He informed that a total of 2097 villages across 22 districts have been impacted by the floods till September 9. The worst-hit districts in terms of affected villages include Gurdaspur with 329 villages, Amritsar with 196, Hoshiarpur with 208, Kapurthala with 145, Jalandhar with 93, Ludhiana and Fazilka with 86 each and Ferozepur with 108. Other districts reporting significant damage are Sangrur with 107, Patiala with 133, Pathankot with 88 and Mansa with 95 villages. Smaller yet notable impacts have also been seen in Barnala (121), Tarn Taran (70), Rupnagar (66), Moga (52), Faridkot (15), Bathinda (21), SAS Nagar (15), SBS Nagar (28), Malerkotla (12) and Sri Muktsar Sahib (23).
The population affected across the state, the Revenue Minister said, has reached 3,88,092 people. The maximum impact has been reported from Gurdaspur with 1,45,000 persons, followed by Amritsar with 1,36,105, Ferozepur with 38,614 and Fazilka with 25,037. Other major districts affected include SAS Nagar with 14,000, Pathankot with 15,503, Kapurthala with 5728, Hoshiarpur with 2785, Jalandhar with 1970, Barnala with 1451 persons, Moga with 800, Rupnagar with (778), Mansa (178), Sangrur (83) and Tarn Taran (60).
The Cabinet Minister said that currently 18 teams of NDRF, 2 teams of SDRF, 21 Army columns, 2 sections and 1 Engineer Task Force are deployed in flood-hit areas. Around 30 helicopters of the Indian Air Force and Army continue to assist in rescue operations. BSF units remain engaged in Ferozepur area. Besides this, 178 boats are part of the ongoing relief efforts.
