Punjab Chief Minister deploys 1,700 Officers to Flood-Hit Areas

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has deployed around 1,700 officers to oversee rescue and relief operations in flood-hit villages across the Indian state.

Officials confirmed that 1,698 villages in 23 districts have been inundated, affecting more than 380,000 people.

Mann said that assigning one officer per village will ensure better coordination between the administration and those in flood-affected villages.

This will allow affected people to share all kinds of problems and ensure prompt and appropriate solutions.

Mann also said that large-scale relief and rescue efforts are already underway, adding that Punjab’s government is committed to the well-being of the people in these testing times.

He said that the state government has already ordered a special Girdawari to ascertain the loss incurred by people due to floods in the state.

Mann explained that the officers have been directed to ensure that the Special Girdawari is done fairly so that people are duly compensated for their loss, claiming that his government will provide the compensation.

At least 30 people have been killed and in Pakistan’s Punjab province, more than half a million people have been forced to evacuate their homes.

Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed said evacuations are continuing in Muzaffargarh and other districts:

“The total number of people displaced since last month is 1.8 million.”

He added that 3,900 villages have been inundated after the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers overflowed two weeks ago.

Residents described the panic as flood warnings were broadcast.

Ghulam Abbas fled his village with his family:

“Those who thought the waters wouldn’t reach them are now being rescued by boat.”

Emergency workers are using drones to help find people stranded on rooftops.

Meanwhile, the UK has given £1.33 million in humanitarian aid.

Local authorities confirmed tents have been erected in Muzaffargarh, Narowal and Kasur.

Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the provincial Disaster Management Authority, said:

“Supplies are on the way for the displaced people, and one of the largest rescue and relief operations is still ongoing.”

He confirmed that embankments along the Chenab River were breached to protect Muzaffargarh city, and that 46 people have died in the floods.

Thousands of rescue workers, including the military, are engaged in evacuations. Nongovernmental organisations are also active.

Taha Muneeb, spokesperson for the Markazi Muslim League, said: “The group’s 10,000 volunteers are helping ferry people to safety by boat and delivering food and medical supplies.

“The group has provided meals to over 800,000 people and offered medical care to 700,000.”