Punjab flood death toll rises to 57 amid drop in number of relief camps
Minister confirms new casualty in Barnala district while stating that rehabilitation efforts are progressing and number of people in relief camps has declined
The death toll in the recent floods in Punjab has climbed to 57, with one more case being reported from Barnala district, Punjab Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian has said.
Mundian said on Wednesday (September 17) the number of active relief camps has dropped from 41 to 38 within 24 hours, while the number of dwellers declined from 1,945 to 1,176.
He described this fall of 769 dwellers as a positive sign that rehabilitation is progressing smoothly and families are steadily returning homes.
Rise in affected crop area
The minister further informed that 23,340 people have been evacuated to date, as the state continues to move towards normalcy.
Mundian added that the number of affected villages is 2,484, while the population affected now stands at 3,89,279.
He pointed out that the crop area affected has risen from 1,98,525 hectares to 1,99,678 hectares, mainly due to fresh reporting from Fazilka district where over 1,153 more hectares of farmland have been impacted.
Also read: Rahul visits flood-hit areas in Amritsar, to meet affected people in Gurdaspur too
Focus on cleaning drive
Urban local bodies across Punjab have stepped up action under the ongoing 10-day cleanliness campaign with focused work on road repair, clearance of silt from drains, restoration of damaged streetlights and water supply lines, and removal of garbage from vulnerable points.
Dedicated teams supported with excavators, tractor trolleys, compactors, and fogging machines are working round the clock to restore normalcy in flood-affected towns and cities.
Local Government Minister Ravjot Singh said ward-wise rosters have been prepared and circulated, ensuring daily focus areas are assigned to teams for systematic execution.
Nodal officers, including zonal commissioners, in larger corporations like Ludhiana are directly monitoring the operations by supervising two to three wards daily, in addition to regular sanitation drives.
Awareness campaigns
The minister informed that awareness activities are being carried out every day to educate citizens about cleanliness and encourage their participation.
Also read: Punjab floods damaged health infra worth Rs 780 crore: Minister
He highlighted that staff and local residents are being actively engaged through personal involvement of officers to motivate communities in maintaining hygiene.
Punjab faced one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The floods were a result of swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, heavy rains in Punjab had also intensified the flooding situation.
(With agency inputs)