Lahore:
Floodwaters from the Ravi River stepped into Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur on Wednesday and submerged his patio and stopped pilgrimage at one of the holiest places of Sikhism.
Visuals from the field showed the sanctuary’s marble step and patio completely flooded as flooding water swept into the complex overnight. About 200 to 300 pilgrims were stranded in the Kartarpur corridor, with the armed forces called to perform rescue operations.
Officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board confirmed that flooding water had seeped into the connection, reached almost three meters in some areas and forced pilgrimage to a sudden stop.
The Punjab government had placed high alarm disaster control agencies on Tuesday and warned of “unusually high” flood risks such as merciless monsoon rain, glacial melting and release of water from Indian dams combined to swell Pakistan’s rivers.
Nearly 190,000 people have since been evacuated from flooded villages where the military and rescue agencies shrink to protect communities along Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej.
Read: Punjab holds your breath when rivers waves
But the threat is not limited to Pakistan. Across the border of India’s Gurdaspur -District in Punjab is the historic city of Dera Baba Nanak – Home of another sacred Sikh Squeeze – reportedly uncertain conditions, with rising river levels driven by continuously heavy rain in the upper upland, especially Himachal Pradesh and Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (iIOJK).
The city has tremendous religious significance. It is located directly opposite Kartarpur and is linked to Pakistan of the landmarked visa-free cartarpur corridor. Since 2019, the corridor allows thousands of Indian pilgrims to visit the shrine of Narowal, where Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent his last days.
Currently, the central structure of Kartarpur remains safe as its elevated platform has spared it from immediate damage.
River levels remain high
The water level in Pakistan’s largest rivers and reservoirs remains critically high, with inflow that surpasses 1.2 million CUSSCS, while flooding water continues to move downstream to Punjab.
Authorities reported both major evacuations and extensive rescue efforts as concerns mounted over the security of the communities along the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.
According to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), the Indus River at Tarbela registered a influx of 240,000 CUSSCS and outflow of 245,400 CUSSCS.
At the shortage of Jhelum, the inflow was 34,000 CUSSCS and EXIMITION 8,000 CUSSCS. Chashma saw the influx of 326,600 CUSSCS and outflows of 329,000 CUSERCS, while inflow at Chenab at Chenab reached 107,500 CUSSCS against 89,500 CuseC’s outflow.
