5,000 acres in Ferozepur under water

The exact loss due to damage of roads,crops and canals in the recent floods is being assessed. Rough estimates suggest the loss might run into crores.

The worst-hit villages are Phida,Kotkaror and Sekhwan where villagers have been forced to move to top floors of their house while some are taking refuge in their neighbour’s house.

Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon visited the flood-affected areas on Friday and pointed out several flaws in the construction of drains which was causing waterlogging.

In Shehjadi village,a drain was built higher than the road level and was ordered to be demolished with immediate effect. In Piyarayana village,a main outlet was found choked with hyacinth and drainage officials were asked to clean the drain. The situation was similar in Ferozeshah,Mudki and Bhangoor village with rainwater accumulating on the streets and fields.

While Sekhon had no answer on why these drains were not cleaned before the onset of the monsoon season,he observed that farmers had illegally blocked the flow of water at many points along the drain and built unauthourised structures. The minister added that a special girdwari is being done and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the PM to grant compensation at the rate of Rs 15,000 per acre to farmers in flood-affected areas. Deputy Commissioner Kamalkishore Yadav and officers of the Drainage and other departments accompanied Sekhon.

Ravi,Beas overflow,villages alerted
With water being released from Madhopur barrage,the Ravi river overflowed at various points submerging low-lying fields near Ajnala and Ghanie-ke-Bet along the Indo-Pak border on Friday. The villages along the river have been put on high alert since more water is likely to be released from Madhopur. Ravi which has a capacity to accommodate over 75,000 cusecs of water now has around one lakh cusecs flowing and if more rains continue in hilly areas,the water level may further rise,said officials. They,however,asked villagers not to panic as the situation was under control. Water also gushed into low-lying areas in Harike along Beas and those near Khemkaran. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner K S Pannu and Tarn Taran DC Khushi Ram said they were keeping a close tab on the situation and as there were no rains on Friday,there was no flood-like situation .