PAKPATTAN/KASUR  -  Flooding in Sutlej River broke protective dykes and submerged several villages in Punjab on Mon­day. The land link of several vil­lages disrupted due to flooding in Sutlej forcing people to evacuate from their homes on their own without support from the author­ities. Flood affected people were trying to stop floodwater and save their villages on their own.

Hundreds of acres farmland with standing crops submerged in the water. Several settlements including Shahoo Baloch, Baqa­rki, Mari Amb, Kot Bakhsha, Bheni Noor Jahanian and other villages were under flood threat.

Sutlej River was in high flood at Sulemanki Headworks, with 1,46,271 cusecs inflow and out­flow. The river was also in high flood at Head Ganda Singh Wala with 1,82,188 cusecs outflow. The water level in Sutlej at Gan­da Singh Wala has been as high as 21.90 feet. A water torrent of 2,80,000 cusecs, released from India yesterday entered in Baha­walnagar district. “After 35 years such big water flow has entered in Sutlej River. This huge 2.75 lac cusecs floodwater could wreak havoc in the area,” DC Bahawal­nagar Zulfiqar Bhoon said in a video message to the residents of Sutlej River belt.

He advised the people to evacuate to relief camps or other safer places to avoid haz­ard. “The people should also evacuate their cattle immedi­ately from the area,” he said. A spokesperson of Punjab Di­saster Management Authority (PDMA) earlier stated that the high flood flow in Sutlej will likely to pass through Islam Headworks on August 21 (to­day). The Punjab PDMA said that the Office of the Indian Commissioner for Indus Wa­ter Treaty had intimated that Harike and Ferozepur Head­works in India “have entered into the flood regime”. “The wa­ter will be regularly discharged on daily basis from the water works until August 21.”

Meanwhile, large-scale rescue and evacuation efforts continued in the recent flood-affected areas in parts of Punjab, following the high-level floods in the Sutlej Riv­er at two points. Meanwhile, Com­missioner Multan division Engi­neer Aamir Khattak directed 100 percent evacuation of the popu­lation from affected areas as per an alert issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab. He further said that keep­ing human lives safe from threats was a top priority of the civic bod­ies and other stakeholders. He ex­pressed these views while presid­ing over the review meeting held at the Deputy Commissioner’s of­fice, Lodhran regarding the flood in Sutlej River. Separately, on the directions of Commissioner La­hore Muhammad Ali Randhawa, rescue and relief operations have been accelerated in the riverine/ flood effected areas of Kasur.