88,000 cusecs of water released from Harrike headworks; border villages along Sutlej asked to stay alert

The district heads of Ferozepur and Fazilka have asked the villagers living along the Sutlej River to stay alert. The villagers were asked to shift to higher places or to relief camps, but they decided to stay put.

Fazilka Deputy Commissioner (DC) Senu Kapila Duggal visited the villages – Mohar Jamsher, Mahatam Nagar and Teja Ruhela, among others – close to the Pakistan border on Monday afternoon. The DC went close to zero line to assess the situation along with area MLA Narinderpal Singh Sawna. Although villagers were ready with backup plans to shift to their relatives’ houses in case of any exigency, they were not keen to go to the relief camps for now.

Duggal appealed to the villagers to stay alert till Tuesday morning. “I have asked the officials to keep themselves on their toes. We have set up a control room in Mahatam Nagar. The DC office staff are just a phone call away to lend a hand to the villagers,” she said.

In Sangrur, DC Jitendra Jorwal along with SSP Surendra Loomba on Monday visited villages in Moonak Tehsil which is close to the Ghaggar River. They met with the villagers and assured them of the administration’s help in any emergency. They were told to hold “thikri pehras” (patrolling by people).

In 2020, the villages in Moonak had borne the brunt of rain fury when the Ghaggar River breached its banks. In Chahal village (Faridkot), several villagers were evacuated to safer places by the teams of the National Disaster Response Force after the outer area of the village was inundated with rainwater.