Islamabad: At least 17 people have died in the last 24 hours due to the severe floods in Punjab province.
Hundreds of villages have been submerged in water. Officials gave this information on Thursday.
A large number of people have been evacuated to safer places due to the floods in the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers. Roads and bridges have been damaged and lakhs of acres of agricultural land have been submerged. This devastation has occurred in Punjab province with a population of more than 13 crores.
According to the emergency service of Punjab, 17 people died due to floods in the last 24 hours. Of these, seven people died in Sialkot, four in Gujrat, three in Narowal, two in Hafizabad and one in Gujranwala. Officials said that the water level of these rivers is much higher than normal, due to heavy rains as well as excess water allegedly released from the dams of India.
Accused India of water aggression
Pakistan’s Federal Development Minister Ehsan Iqbal accused India of ‘water aggression’ and said that India has made water a weapon by creating a sudden flood-like situation. This is a natural disaster, which both countries should have dealt with together.
Earlier, officials had said, India has opened all the gates of its Thein Dam located on the Ravi River. After this, the Punjab government has sought Pakistan’s help in Lahore, Okara, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Kasur, Sargodha and Hafizabad districts, so that relief and rescue operations can be carried out.
India had already warned of releasing water
India had already warned Pakistan that it would release water from the rapidly filling Madhopur Dam. Both these dams are on the Ravi River, which originates from India and flows into Pakistan. On Sunday, India had warned Pakistan of floods through diplomatic channels on ‘humanitarian grounds’.
On April 22, the day after the Pahalgam terror attack, India had taken several tough steps against Pakistan, including suspending the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. Usually such flood information is given through the Indus Water Commission. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the fast flow of flood is now moving towards the lower areas.
The water level is very high in Khanki and Qadirabad headworks on Chenab and Ganda Singh Wala on Sutlej. Flood water is also above the danger level in Jasser and Shahdara areas on the Ravi river, due to which people have been evacuated from some parts of Lahore.
10 lakh people affected by flood: Punjab government
The Punjab government said that so far more than 2.5 lakh people have been evacuated safely and relief work is going on. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas on Thursday. The state government estimates that about 10 lakh people have been affected by this flood so far.
According to a government statement, about 340 villages in Sialkot, Wazirabad, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Chiniot and Jhang districts situated on the banks of the Chenab river have been the worst affected.
At the same time, about 335 villages in Kasur, Okara, Pakpatan, Multan, Vehari, Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur situated on the banks of the Sutlej river are in the grip of floods. Many major roads of Narowal, Shakargarh and Sialkot are completely flooded. The Punjab government has sought help from the army in Sialkot, Narowal, Hafizabad, Sargodha, Lahore, Kasur, Okara and Faisalabad.