Flood situation remains grim as BBMB release more water

ROPAR: The flood situation in Ropar continued to remain grim on the fourth consecutive day as the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) resorted to releasing 77300 cusecs of water from the Gobind Sagar of Bhakra dam on Monday as the water level in the dam breached the danger mark of 1680 feet and was recorded at 1681.23 feet.
The release of water from the dam throw life out of gear from a large number of downstream villages.Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh who visited the flood-affected areas announced a relief package of Rs 100 crore for Ropar.
State CM and Punjab Water Resources Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria also visited Ropar headworks to assess the situation and ordered the officials to monitor the situation round the clock and ensure timely relief to the affected people.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has decided to file a PIL seeking damages for the farmers. Senior party leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said the metrological department had predicted heavy rains ahead and yet the board failed to regulate the water in the dam.
“If they had released the waters when it was not raining in Punjab, hundreds of farmers could have been saved from the losses,” he added. He also said Rs 100 crore grant announced by the CM was not enough as the losses were more than Rs 500 crore.
The teams of the NDRF rescued around 696 people stuck in 71 flood-hit villages and the rescue operations are still on. As many as 13 boats, two divers and 29 JCBs have been deployed in the flood-hit areas of the district to expedite rescue operations.
The CM also directed to shift the students of IIT Ropar to Kisan Bhawan at Chandigarh till the situation normalised.
While inspecting the situation at Shampura village, the CM also met slum dwellers and directed the district administration to extend all necessary help to the flood affected families.
He also directed the health department to hold health camps and the animal husbandry department to provide veterinary services while making arrangements for feed and fodder.
As per the reports, there had been an unprecedented increase in flow in Swan Nadi (90,000 cusecs), Sirsa Nadi (60,000 cusecs) and Budhki Nadi (20,000 cusecs) many rivulets.