'22,854 people were evacuated safely amid Punjab floods', said Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian

Punjab Flood:  Punjab Revenue Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian today said that during the last 24 hours, 48 ​​more villages, 2691 people and standing crops in 2131 hectares of area have been affected. So far, 1996 villages in 22 districts have been affected, due to which a total of 3,87,013 people have been affected.

Thousands Evacuated Amid Rising Floods

Hardeep Singh Mundian informed that during the last 24 hours, 19 more villages of Jalandhar district have been affected, while during the same period, 13 villages of Ludhiana, 6 of Ferozepur, 5 of Amritsar, 4 of Hoshiarpur and 1 village of district Fazilka have been affected. Giving information about the efforts to evacuate people, the Revenue Minister said that 925 more persons have been evacuated in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of persons evacuated so far to 22,854. The highest number of persons evacuated to safer places are in Gurdaspur (5581), Fazilka (4202), Ferozepur (3888), Amritsar (3260), Hoshiarpur (1616), Pathankot (1139) and Kapurthala (1428).

139 relief camps accommodated 6121 persons

He further informed that at present 139 relief camps are operational in the state in which 6121 persons have been accommodated. He informed that a total of 219 camps have been set up in various districts since the beginning of the floods. 2588 persons have been accommodated in 14 camps in Fazilka district. Similarly, 527 persons have been accommodated in 49 camps in Barnala, 921 persons in 4 camps in Hoshiarpur, 250 persons in 5 camps in Rupnagar, 155 persons in 3 camps in Moga and 89 affected persons in 2 camps in Mansa. The Cabinet Minister said that in the last 24 hours, the floods have claimed three more lives in Amritsar and Rupnagar, taking the total number of deaths in 14 districts to 46, while three persons are still missing in district Pathankot.

Crops Damaged Within 24 Hours

Giving details of crop damage, Hardeep Singh Mundian said that in the last 24 hours, another 2131 hectares of crop has been damaged, taking the total crop area damaged in 18 districts to 1.74 lakh hectares so far. The worst affected districts include Gurdaspur (40,169 hectares), Fazilka (18,649 hectares), Ferozepur (17,257 hectares), Kapurthala (17,574 hectares), Hoshiarpur (8,322 hectares), Sangrur (6,560 hectares), Tarn Taran (12,828 hectares) and SAS Nagar (2,000 hectares).

Army Relief Operations

Hardeep Singh Mundian thanked the armed forces for their help during this difficult time and said that a total of 23 NDRF teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations in Amritsar, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Rupnagar, while 2 SDRF teams are active in Kapurthala. He said that 27 contingents of the Indian Army and 7 Engineer Task Forces are actively working in the flood affected areas. 9 helicopters of the Indian Air Force and the Army are engaged in relief operations. The BSF is providing assistance in the Ferozepur sector. Apart from this, one state helicopter and 158 boats are being used in rescue and relief operations.