Punjab floods: Death toll rises to 46, crop on 1.75 lakh hectares damaged
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Chandigarh (PTI): The death toll due to the devastating floods in Punjab has gone up to 46, while crops on 1.75 lakh hectares of land have been damaged in the deluge, officials said on Saturday.
Relief-and-rescue operations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Army, Border Security Force, Punjab Police and district authorities are underway on a war footing, they added.
Punjab is facing one of its worst floods in decades. The floods are a result of swollen rivers, such as the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, along with seasonal rivulets, following heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, heavy rains in Punjab in recent days have intensified the situation, aggravating the challenges faced by residents.
The water level in the Pong dam marginally dipped to 1,394.19 feet on Saturday, though it remained four feet above its upper limit of 1,390 feet, the officials said.
The water level in the dam was 1,394.8 feet on Friday evening.
The water inflow also declined to 47,162 cusecs from 99,673 cusecs on Friday, while the outflow remained unchanged at 99,673 cusecs, according to the officials.
In case of the Bhakra dam, the water level was 1,678.14 feet as against 1,678.47 feet on Friday. The water inflow in the dam, built on the Sutlej river, stood at 62,481 cusecs and the outflow was 52,000 cusecs, the officials said.
Describing the floods as the worst in five decades, state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said relentless rainfall in Punjab and neighbouring hill states have triggered widespread devastation, affecting almost 2,000 villages across all districts.
More than 3.87 lakh citizens have been impacted, with 46 reported deaths, according to the latest bulletin on the floods.
Forty-three deaths were reported from 14 districts between August 1 and September 5.
A total of 1,996 villages in 23 districts have been affected due to the floods.
The highest number of deaths has been reported from Hoshiarpur and Amritsar (seven each), followed by Pathankot (six), Barnala (five), Ludhiana and Bathinda (four each), Mansa (three), Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and SAS Nagar (two each), while one death each has been reported from Patiala, Sangrur, Fazilka and Ferozepur.
Three persons are missing in Pathankot.
Meanwhile, a 50-year-old man from Talli Gulam village in Ferozepur district was killed after being swept away by strong currents in a swollen river.
The district has been witnessing dangerously high water levels and persistent flooding over the last few days, making life difficult for villagers living along vulnerable stretches, the officials said.
The flood-related data is for the period starting from August 1 till September 6.
So far, 22,854 people have been evacuated from the affected areas, the officials said.
Cheema said the farm sector, a cornerstone of the state's economy, has suffered extensive damage in 18 districts.
Additionally, infrastructure, houses and livestock have sustained significant losses. The Ghaggar river's water level has also surpassed its danger mark of 750 feet, Cheema said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state has responded to the unprecedented floods with prompt action and empathy, he added.
The minister emphasised the need for accountability and support from the BJP-led Centre, stressing that the crisis demands a collaborative response rather than "political opportunism".
Cheema said despite the scale of destruction, the Punjab government has mounted a swift and coordinated response.
Around 200 relief camps have been set up across the state, sheltering more than 7,000 displaced people, he added.
Rescue-and-relief operations are being carried out by 24 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and two of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), supported by 144 boats.
Punjab minister Aman Arora slammed Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday for blaming illegal mining in rivers for the flooding, saying BJP leaders visit flood-hit areas for "photo-ops" instead of announcing financial aid for the state.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of discriminating against Punjab, the AAP said Chouhan did not announce "even a penny" for flood assistance, despite the state government seeking the payment of its "pending" Rs 60,000 crore with the Centre.
AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh reviewed the flood-hit areas at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district.
He visited the affected areas at Mand Inderpur and interacted with residents.
Singh assured the people that the AAP government is standing by them with full strength and determination in this difficult time.
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Separate nodal officer in all districts to prevent female foeticides in Karnataka: Minister
Belagavi (PTI): Accepting that the female foeticide has not stopped in the state, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said that the government is taking strict measures to prevent it.
The minister said the government is appointing separate nodal officers in all districts and tightening measures to prevent foeticide, which he called a "social evil".
He also assured that the government will consider strengthening legislation to control such activities.
The minister was responding to a question by BJP MLC C T Ravi in the Legislative Council.
"Female foeticides have certainly not stopped. If you look at the sex ratio, there is a lot of difference. I accept that this is happening," Rao said.
"Foeticides are not happening under pressure; voluntarily, it is happening, for not wanting a girl child. These things are happening based on the sex determination of the foetus at some hospitals. Sex determination is illegal, but with the advancement in technology, portable ultrasound machines have been developed, which can be easily carried anywhere, and scans and tests can be done. This needs to be controlled. We will bring it to the notice of the central government," he said.
In some districts and in a few hospitals, a higher number of male child births is happening. It is found with the help of intelligence input, the minister said.
"Information is being gathered on the taluk in which the male-female ratio is worsening, what is happening in which hospital, and appropriate action is being taken to crack down on such a network, after proper evaluation."
Decoy operations have been done at seven places in the last two years, to identify those involved in illegal activities linked to female foeticides, and actions have been taken against officials and hospitals involved, he said, adding that more needs to be done on priority.
Responding to a question by Ravi about whether any stringent legislation is being brought, Rao said, the government will consider strengthening the legislation and making it stricter to control this.
"Some amendments have been made to the existing laws in the last two years....advanced technology and the internet is being used to carry out such things, also oral medicines for abortions are available over the counter.
We need to look into bringing legislation to control them. The Food and Drug Administration has issued instructions to pharmacists that the sale of such drugs should be documented."
The minister also said that measures are also being taken for the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, and awareness is being created against the identification of female foetuses and female foeticide.
