Flood Alert: Heavy rainfalls may cause flood in Sutlej river

KASUR: Authorities have issued a warning of high flood in the Sutlej, one of the eastern rivers that flow into Pakistan from India, as the water level is likely to increase during the next 48 hours.

The officials state the water supply could increase to 160,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala, a village sharing a border with India’s Firozpur district.

Firozpur city is some 10 kilometers from Ganda Singh Wala, a bustling border crossing between the two nations. The water level at Ganda Singh Wala has now exceeded 21 feet, and the deluge has already isolated at least 30 villages from the rest of the nation.

It is estimated that standing crops, rice and maize, on about 3,000 acres have already been flattened. Other sources indicate that all the crops in 10 of the flooded villages have been lost by farmers.

While the floodwater covered the whole village, villagers witnessed their houses being submerged such that they sought refuge on rooftops.

It should be remembered that the majority of the villages in this region of Kasur are not densely populated, as the residents are used to building homes on their properties. It makes agriculture a little less tiring because they don’t have to commute from the houses to the fields.

Thus, there are several settlements in these villages. At the same time, the villages near the Sutlej are highly prone to floods, as the river isn’t that deep.

Earlier, India opened water from the Sutlej without warning, following heavy to very heavy monsoon rains in the eastern river catchments in the past weeks.

To the extent of the rescue operations, more than 5,500 locals have already been relocated to safety, and relief camps have been set up in schools.