All 23 Punjab districts were declared flood-hit on Tuesday by the state government, which activated emergency responses under the Disaster Management Act, 2025.
Till Monday, 12 districts were affected by the worst-ever floods witnessed in decades. In an order issued by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, deputy commissioners have been empowered to act on their own in case of any threatening disaster situation and be prepared for emergency.
19,600 People rescued
Around 1,400 villages hit and standing crops on 4 lakh acres submerged under floodwater
The Public Works, Water Resources and Power Departments have been instructed to start repairs of their infrastructure on a war-footing.
Telecom operators have been instructed to ensure mobile and landline connectivity while officers instructed to ensure smooth movement of people and essential services in their respective areas
Even as the situation in flood-ravaged Punjab is yet to be assessed by central teams, 30 deaths have been reported in the state. The floods have affected close to 3.55 lakh people till date. Around 19,600 persons have been evacuated from flood-affected areas, including 1,400 villages.
Standing crops on over 4 lakh acres have submerged under floodwaters.
Both Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann toured flood affected areas to oversee relief and rescue operations on Tuesday, as civil administration and rescue teams from the Army, Air Force, NDRF and the BSF braced for another spell of heavy rainfall predicted for Wednesday and Thursday.
Till date, 171 relief camps have been set up. As many as 5,167 persons have been shifted there. The rains in the catchment areas, located upstream of the Ravi and Beas in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, led to the rivers swelling once again.
The water flow in the Ravi at Ujh barrage increased from 7,474 cusecs this morning to 52,341 cusecs in the evening.
A little further downstream of the Ravi at Dharamkot, the gauge at 4.63 lakh cusecs is still inaccessible as water flow continues to be much higher.
Even in the Beas, the water flow at the Chakki bank increased from 1,910 cusecs to 8,400 cusecs by evening. At Dhilwan in Sultanpur Lodhi, the water flow was recorded at 2.04 lakh cusecs, having receded slightly since morning. The Sutlej water flow declined at Ropar. It was flowing at 1.02 lakh cusecs in the morning and came down to 71,486 cusecs in the evening.
The water flow recorded at Harike this evening was 2.93 lakh cusecs. Harike is the place where the Beas and Sutlej converge.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Pong Dam, built on the Beas, was recorded at 1,391 feet, above the danger mark of 1,390 feet. At the Bhakra Dam reservoir, it neared the danger mark of 1,680 feet and was recorded at 1,677.32 feet.
The inflows in both these dams, as well as at the Ranjit Sagar Dam. The highest inflow of 1.71 lakh cusecs was recoded at the Ranjit Sagar Dam, built on the Ravi.
