According to officials on Thursday, over 1,000 people have been rescued from flood-affected Hoshiarpur thus far, despite the fact that there are now 64 impacted villages in the district. They claimed that severe rains and water input from the Beas river had left several villages in the Tanda and Mukerian subdivisions under water.
Aashika Jain, the deputy commissioner, has mandated a 24-hour watch at strategic locations around canals, seasonal rivulets, and the embankments of the Beas river. According to the official, the number of villages in the district impacted by flooding increased from 44 on Wednesday to 64 on Thursday. These villages include 14 in Tanda, 20 in Dasuya, and 28 in Mukerian tehsil.
According to her, the government has already evacuated 1,052 persons, 784 of them were moved in the last 16 hours alone. There are currently 15 functioning relief camps that house 413 individuals, including 280 who were relocated there during the last 16 hours. Following significant rainfall in the river’s upper sections, Pong dam managers boosted the discharge into the Shah Nehar Barrage from around 95,000 cusecs to 1.10 lakh cusecs at 2:00 pm.
According to the officials, the water level of the dam, which reached 1,393.55 feet at 4 am, gradually decreased to 1,393.26 feet at noon, remaining above the 1,390-foot upper limit and nearly to its 1,410-foot maximum capacity. They reported that the afternoon inflow was roughly 60,000 cusecs. To prevent against any violations, the deputy commissioner ordered that physically fit adult males from every hamlet be assigned to “theekri pehra.”
5,287 hectares of the district’s agricultural land have been devastated by floods thus far. During the current monsoon season, 17 ‘kutcha’ dwellings have fallen, five others have sustained significant damage, and one was partially destroyed, the officer continued. Gandhowal, Rara Mand, Talhi, Salempur, Abdullapur, Mewa Miani, and Fatta Kulla in Tanda subdivision, as well as Motla, Haler Janardhan, Sanial, Kolian, and Mehtabpur in Mukerian subdivision, were among the impacted villages whose crops were flooded.
Gandhowal village resident Dharminder Singh stated he and his family of ten were forced to leave their home and relocate with their cattle to Tanda, Sri Hargobindpur Road, where they currently stay in tractor-trailers. There, about 125 people have sought refuge in tractor-trailers covered with tarpaulins, including women and children from the villages of Gandhowal, Fatta Kulla, and Rara Mand.
Dharminder Singh stated that food was being supplied by Bhai Mann Singh and Pul Pukhta gurdwaras. “Even though the administration has established relief camps, they are not appropriate as we have cattle with us,” he added. He recalled having to leave his home during the floods in 2023, when some of his possessions were taken while he was away. “This time we have to keep an eye not only on our families but also on our houses.”
He continued by saying that the only government aid they have received thus far consists of medications given by an ambulance crew and veterinarians who examined their animals.