Punjab rivers breach danger marks, Modi dials Mann

Meanwhile, heavy rain continued to lash Punjab on Monday, worsening the flood crisis. Rivers including the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and the Ghaggar have breached danger marks, submerging 1,044 villages and snapping road connectivity in large swathes. The floods in Punjab have so far claimed 29 lives, submerged nearly 3 lakh acres of farmland, primarily paddy fields, and impacted the lives of more than 2.56 lakh people in 12 of the 23 districts, as per an official bulletin.

Separately, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Mann and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, and took stock of the flood situation. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, meanwhile, announced that he would soon visit Punjab to assess the crop damage.

The developments came a day after Mann wrote to Modi and urged him to release Rs 60,000 crore of the state’s funds, pending with the Centre, and sought revision in the norms for funds available in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), saying that his government wanted to pay at least Rs 50,000 per acre to affected farmers.

The IMD has issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall in several districts, warning that the situation could persist until September 3. The state government has ordered the closure of all colleges and higher education institutes till then.