Pakistan: Punjab govt says rescue efforts underway amid floods caused by Sutlej River

Punjab: Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday said rescue efforts are underway after a flood “unprecedented in 35 years” was reported in the Sutlej River, Dawn reported.

Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

As per the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD), the river is at an “extremely high flood level” at Ganda Singh Wala and will remain in this critical state.
It said River Sutlej at Sulemanki Headworks is anticipated to attain a “high to very high flood level” at the Sulemanki Headworks in the next 24 hours. Similarly, the Islam Headworks is expected to witness a high flood level from Aug 22 onwards, according to Dawn.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today, Naqvi said “278,000 cusecs of water” is rushing near the Ganda Singh border in Kasur and the government was closely monitoring the situation.
The chief minister added: “Visited flood-affected areas and relief camps today. Appreciation for district Administration, Rescue 1122, Police, and Irrigation teams for their 24/7 efforts over the past 3 days.”

“This flood is unprecedented in 35 years, but our teams are on the ground, dedicated to securing and helping our people. Insha Allah, we’ll get through this together,” he said.

Separately, in a media talk in Lahore later in the day, Naqvi said ten to 12 feet of floodwater had entered several villages in Kasur and 6,500 people had been evacuated from affected villages in the last 24 hours.

“We will, if we have to, forcefully evacuate people from the villages under threat to prevent any loss of life,” he stated, adding that Section 144 had been imposed in the area, according to Dawn.

Naqvi further said that the Lahore commissioner and officials of the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) were overviewing the rescue operation at the site.