Govt officer goes missing in floods at Madhopur Pathankot
Air Force airlifts 60 irrigation officials
Chandigarh: The Indian Air Force airlifted 60 irrigation officials who were deployed to open the gates of the Madhopur barrage in Punjab’s Pathankot district on Wednesday, officials said, adding that one officer is missing.
Additionally, two gates of the Madhopur Headworks, located on the Ravi river, have been damaged, officials mentioned further.
“60 people have been rescued with the help of choppers of the Air Force,” Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Aditya Uppal confirmed.
He also mentioned that efforts are ongoing to locate the missing officer, adding, “The search operation is active. Our teams are on-site, and we have informed everyone downstream to help in the search.”
The Madhopur Headworks has a total of 54 flood gates that control the flow of water. On Tuesday, the water flow through the headworks was measured at 200,000 cusecs, which has since decreased to 62,000 cusecs.
The situation in flood-hit Pathankot remains grim as many villages have been inundated due to the rise of the water levels in the Ravi, Ujh and Jalalian rivers. These rivers surged following the release of water from the Ranjit Sagar dam due to heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
As a result of the elevated flow in these rivers, many villages, mostly in Narot Jaimal Singh and Bamial blocks, were submerged, inundating large tracts of land.
On Wednesday morning, several teams of the National Disaster Response Force were deployed in the Sujanpur, Atepur and Baheri areas to evacuate people from flooded locations, officials stated.
Deputy Commissioner Uppal informed that the water level in Sujanpur city has receded.
Meanwhile, rescue and relief operations are underway in the affected villages.
Earlier, Uppal urged the public not to panic and encouraged them to contact the control room for assistance. He noted that the NDRF and the Army are actively engaged in providing support across the affected areas.
Two relief camps have been set up at the Satsang Beas Centre, Pathankot and Gosaipur, officials stated.
