Flood situation improves in Haryana’s Sirsa, grim in Mansa in Punjab (Roundup)

CHANDIGARH - Rescue work was on in flood-affected areas of Sirsa district in Haryana Thursday where the flood waters have begun to recede, while the situation remained grim in Punjab’s Mansa district, officials said.

Rescue work was on in Sirsa with the help of army officials. “The water level has receded considerably in most parts of the district today and we are expecting things to improve by tomorrow,” said an official of Sirsa administration.

He said around 14,000 people have left their houses, located in at least nine villages in Sirsa, due to the floods. “At some places we still have three to four feet water. We are monitoring the situation very closely,” he added.

Unconfirmed sources said that a man and his teenaged nephew drowned in the flood water in Fatehabad district Wednesday.

According to official figures, so far, 33 people have lost their lives in floods in Punjab and Haryana.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, announcing measures to help the flood affected farmers, said short term loans would be converted into long term loans in the flood affected districts.

“In the wake of floods in six districts namely Ambala, Kaithal, Krukshetra, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Yamunanagar, the state government has converted the short term cooperative loans amounting to Rs.201.21 crore into medium term cooperative loans,” said Hooda Thursday.

He added: “We have also directed the authorities concerned to make adequate arrangement of fertilisers to the farmers. Rescue work is on in all flood-hit areas and every kind of help is being provided to the victims.”

As per official records, in Haryana paddy crop has been damaged in 93,815 hectares, whereas cotton has been damaged in 6,434 hectares due to floods. Besides fruits and vegetables, fodder crops has also been damaged in 11,464 hectares.

An inter-ministerial central team led by Joint Secretary R.P. Nath will visit Haryana July 19 and 20 for on the spot assessment of the loss, said an official spokesperson.

The Haryana government also released Rs.90.75 crore under the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) to the deputy commissioners to provide immediate assistance to the victims across the state.

“Over Rs.70.50 crore has been released to district Ambala alone,” said Naresh Gulati, secretary (revenue and disaster management), Haryana.

However, the flood situation remained grim in Punjab’s Mansa district although no fresh breach was reported in the Ghaggar river Thursday.

In the Sardulgarh sub-division, in Mansa, at least 30 villages were submerged in water and several acres of agriculture land inundated.

“The army and paramilitary troopers are assisting us in the rescue operations. All the victims have been taken to safe locations, and soon the situation will be normal in the district,” Mansa Deputy Commissioner Kumar Rahul told IANS Thursday.

Patiala, Sangrur, Mohali, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Moga and Mansa districts of Punjab were badly affected in the floods in the last few days.

Amarjeet Singh Dullat, chief engineer (irrigation), told IANS: “The situation is under control in most parts of the flood-affected districts of Punjab. No fresh breach has been reported since Wednesday in any of the rivers or canals.”

However, there was moderate to heavy rain in Chandigarh and surrounding areas Thursday evening.