Lahore:
Punjab was affected by catastrophic floods triggered by heavy rain and exacerbated by India’s release of water, causing the provincial government to convene the army for a massive relief and rescue operation across several districts.
In extraordinary measures to save lives and protect critical infrastructure, the authorities deliberately violated a dam near the Qadirabad’s headwork on the Chenab River to facilitate the pressure on the structure and reduce the destructive power of the water.
Despite the intervention, large areas remain flooded, including Kartarpur Gurdwara, one of the holiest places of Sikhism where flooding water entered the connection and disturbed pilgrimage activity, and stranded dozens before lifeboats evacuated them.
At least seven people, including five from the same family, were swept away by flooding water in Sambrial, according to Rescue 1122.
Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said a dam near the Qadirabad damp on the Chenab River was broken to facilitate the pressure on the structure.
Rescue operations are underway across Punjab, where flooding water has immersed houses, shops and agricultural land in several districts.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed that over 210,000 people have already been displaced, with additional evacuations scheduled as Rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej swelling to dangerous levels.
The Punjab government has sought military assistance in Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara, Sargodha and Hafizabad. Army units have been deployed to help evacuations of humans and livestock, while rescue team has been sent to flooded areas.
Rising Rivers
Reports show that the water level in Ravi, Sutlej and the Chenab rivers has risen dangerously. Villages along Sutlej in the districts of Kasur, Okara and Bahawalnagar have already seen floods, with crops standing waisted deep in water.
Local administrations have set up temporary relief camps and started changing residents from river areas to safer land. “We try to move people before the water rises on,” said an official in Kasur district. “Our priority is to save lives first and then livelihood.”
Deputy Commissioners in Districts Sargodha, Lodhran, Multan and Muzaffargarh have issued red warnings warning that record flows could flood dozens of villages and influence thousands of people.
Local accounts from Burewala say that rolling waters have violated protective dams, flooding villages, including Lakhha Saldira, Mianpur and Madher, immersive agricultural land and displaced thousands.
In Muzaffargarh, officials described the current flood wave in the Chenab River as the largest since 2014, warning that nearly 900,000 CuseC’s water was moving downstream from Marala and could soon hit Rangpur.
The Ministry of Water Resource warned that unusually high flood levels are expected in the coming days, when India has opened all gates of its large dams in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) after heavy rain.
The flood has caused severe disruption of pilgrimage in Kartarpur, where Gurdwara’s patio and the surrounding areas have been flooded. Officials confirmed that the central shrine remained structurally sure of higher land.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted further heavy rain over Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and parts of Sindh and Balochistan from August 29 to September 2.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, chairman of an emergency meeting in Islamabad, instructed federal and provincial authorities to secure early warnings, timely evacuations and uninterrupted relief supply in Punjab.
He emphasized the need for coordination between NDMA and PDMA to protect life, property and infrastructure. He also asked for preventive steps in Sindh and warned that the coming days could bring additional waves over the country’s already overloaded river system.
The prime minister was informed that there was a risk of high-level flooding at the head Marala and Khanki due to increased water discharge in the Chenab River. In addition, pressed by high water discharge in the Ravi River by Jastar and Shahdara and in the Sutlej River at Ganda Singh Wala and Sulemanki.
Shehbaz also approached measures to ensure early flood warnings for Sindh and ask public representatives and government institutions to ensure timely evacuation, safe relocation and effective monitoring of emergency relief operations.
The death toll from floods in Pakistan, since the monsoon began in late June, has risen to 802 – with half of the fatal accidents recorded this month alone. According to officials, thousands of people also remained stranded over the past several days in the country’s north.
The flood situation revives the memories of the devastating super flooding in 2010, when a fifth of Pakistan’s land was submerged and the 2014 flooding that abused Punjab’s agricultural belt, immersed entire villages along the Chenab River.
(With input from agencies)
