Punjab Floods: Death Toll Rises To 46, 3 Still Missing

Chandigarh: Punjab revenue, rehabilitation and disaster management minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Saturday said floods had claimed three more lives in Amritsar and Rupnagar districts in the past 24 hours, raising the total toll to 46 across 14 districts, while three persons remained missing in district Pathankot.

He said that 48 more villages, with a population of 2,691 people and 2,131 hectares of crops have been affected during the past 24 hours and that till date, 1,996 villages across 22 districts stand impacted, affecting a total population of over 3.87 lakh people.

The Cabinet minister said that 19 more villages have been affected in Jalandhar in the past 24 hours, while 13 in Ludhiana, 6 in Ferozepur, 5 in Amritsar, 4 in Hoshiarpur and one village in district Fazilka were affected during this period.

Detailing the evacuation efforts, he said that 925 more persons were evacuated in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 22,854 people rescued so far.

He further said that 139 relief camps are presently operational in the state, sheltering 6,121 affected people, while a total of 219 camps have been established across different districts since the onset of floods.

While highlighting the impact on agriculture, he said that with an additional 2,131 hectares of crop damaged in the last 24 hours, the total area had now crossed 1.74 lakh hectares across 18 districts.

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He said that total 23 NDRF teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations in Amritsar, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Rupnagar, while 2 SDRF teams are active in Kapurthala.

He further said that 27 army columns and 7 Engineer Task Forces of the Indian Army are actively engaged in flood-hit regions. Nine helicopters of the Indian Air Force and Army have been pressed into relief operations. The BSF is providing assistance in the Ferozepur sector. Besides this, 158 boats along with one state helicopter are part of the ongoing rescue and relief measures.