Floods Inundate Over 8,000 Acres Of Farmland Across Punjab’s Hoshiarpur District

In Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, more than 8,000 acres of farmland in 44 villages of the district have been submerged under floodwaters, officials said on Wednesday. 

PTI reported that they claimed that on Wednesday, the Pong Dam's water level rose to 1,393 feet, accompanied by an inflow of over 1.62 lakh cusecs.  Villages downstream were on high alert as approximately 94,000 cusecs of water were being released into the Shah Nehar Barrage.

According to Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain, floods have impacted 44 villages in the district: 20 in the Mukerian subdivision, 13 in Tanda, four in Dasuya, and seven in Hoshiarpur.

Twelve relief camps, including three in Tanda, eight in Mukerian, and one in Dasuya, have been established, she said.  Up to 646 individuals have sought refuge in the Tanda camps.

The Deputy commissioner claimed that the flood-affected communities are receiving essential relief supplies such as drinking water, filters, sanitation kits, medications, tarpaulins, mattresses, mosquito repellents, and nets.

Approximately 18 kanals in the Hoshiarpur subdivision, 3,000 acres in Tanda, 256 acres in Dasuya, and 5,500 acres in Mukerian comprise the district's 8,758 acres of flooded farmland.

According to officials, sugarcane, paddy, and other crops in Tanda subdivision's Rara Mand, Talhi, Salempur, Abdullapur, Mewa Miani, and Fatta Kulla, as well as Motla, Haler Janardhan, Sanial, Kolian, and Mehtabpur in Mukerian subdivision, were still underwater.

Villagers became concerned as the Beas River began to surge once more after momentarily subsiding in the morning.  They have urged the government to offer sufficient compensation because they fear that their standing crops, which are now under floodwater, may be ruined.

In Haler Janardhan, nearly three-fourths of the residents have shifted to safer places. "Yesterday, our houses were under two feet of water. Today, water has receded from the village, but fields remain submerged. The bigger worry now is cattle fodder," said a villager.

According to PTI, Kolian remains waterlogged, with knee-deep water in many homes.

"Half of our people have left. Those who stayed behind fear theft if they abandon their houses," said David Masih, the husband of the village sarpanch.

The displaced have been receiving three meals a day from nearby gurdwaras in Manjpur and Jahanpur.

Water flooded the fields around Motla instead of entering the village.  The route that leads from the village to Haler, next to the government school, was also blocked by floodwaters.

Almost 2,200 acres of agriculture in Mehtabpur have been submerged.  Sarpanch Manjinder Singh stated, "Water entered our houses yesterday and then subsided, but it has started rising again."

Families from Fatta Kulla, Rara Mand, Talhi Mand, and Gandhowal were observed sheltering with their possessions and cattle in homemade tents and tractor-trolleys along the Tanda-Sri Hargobindpur route.