The Punjab government on Tuesday declared all 23 districts flood-hit, reporting 30 deaths and over 3.5 lakh people affected, as overflowing reservoirs and rivers nearing danger marks kept several districts on high alert.
“The State of Punjab is currently grappling with one of the worst flood disasters in decades, impacting more than 1,200 villages and affecting lakhs of people. Heavy monsoon rains, coupled with the release of water from dams, have caused extensive flooding in many districts of Punjab,” said an order by the Government of Punjab Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management.
Officials warned that, with the situation still evolving, there is grave concern that conditions may further “deteriorate” in the coming days.
Cabinet Minister Hardip Singh Mundian said the calamity has now spread to all districts, affecting 1,400 villages and over 3.54 lakh people. Nearly 20,000 residents have been evacuated, while 1,48,590 hectares of standing crops lie damaged.
The worst-hit regions include Gurdaspur, Mansa, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran and Hoshiarpur. Health Minister Balbir Singh added that 818 medical teams are operating across flood-hit areas to ensure no one is left without treatment.
Rescue and relief efforts are in full swing. According to Mundian, 23 NDRF teams are deployed across districts, while the Army, Air Force, and Navy have mobilised 12 columns, two engineering units, and nearly 35 helicopters.
The BSF is assisting in border areas, and 114 boats, along with a state helicopter, are being used to ferry people and deliver relief supplies.
Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann visited different flood-affected areas, with Mann inspecting inundated Ferozepur on a boat and Kataria touring Ferozepur and Tarn Taran.
Raising concern over the “meagre compensation” for natural calamities, Mann urged the Centre to revise its relief norms and release Punjab’s pending ₹60,000 crore, stressing that he was seeking the state’s “rights” rather than “begging.”
Kataria, meanwhile, backed farmers’ demand for permanent land ownership rights to ensure crop loss compensation and access to government schemes.
