Chandigarh, July 18 (IANS) The flood situation continued to remain grim in some parts of Punjab and Haryana where at least 51 people have so far lost their lives, officials said Sunday.
According to official figures, 26 people were killed due to flood-related reasons in Haryana while 25 people were killed in Punjab.
‘In Haryana, maximum flood-related deaths were reported from Ambala district where 11 people lost their lives. This is followed by 10 in Kurukshetra, four in Fatehabad and one in Sirsa,’ a Haryana government spokesperson said here.
The flood situation is still grim in some parts of Sirsa and Fatehabad districts, where the Ghaggar river was flowing above the danger mark.
‘Several acres of agricultural land has been inundated and many villages are still submerged. Rescue work is on and the overall situation is under control,’ the spokesperson said.
‘But it will take some more time for the situation to normalise in these two districts,’ the official added.
Besides, the Panchkula administration had also issued a flood alert in the district Saturday following a rise in Ghaggar river’s water level.
Officials in Panchkula district said the water level in Ghaggar river had risen Saturday following heavy rains in the catchment areas of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts were badly affected by the floods during the last few days.
The state government claimed a loss worth crores of rupees and a team of central government will come here July 19-20 to assess the actual damage.
In the neighbouring state of Punjab, the flood situation is still worrisome in Sardulgarh sub-division of Mansa district.
‘Although there has been no fresh breach, the flood situation is grim in some parts of Sardulgarh area. Our relief operation is on and the water level has also marginally receded since Saturday,’ Kumar Rahul, deputy commissioner of Mansa, told IANS.
‘Nearly 20,000 houses have been damaged in Mansa district and over 9,000 acres of agricultural land has been inundated,’ he added.
As per official figures, over 3.25 lakh acres of land has been submerged in the floods, causing a loss of around Rs.480 crore. So far, 25 people have been killed in various flood-affected districts in Punjab.
