This story is from September 25, 2018

Flood alert in Punjab; schools, colleges shut

Flood alert in Punjab; schools, colleges shut
Farm labourers remove rain water from a flooded spinach field after heavy rains, on the outskirts of Amritsar
CHANDIGARH: Hit by incessant rains, the Punjab government on Monday ordered closure of all schools and colleges on Tuesday. The authorities also issued a red alert in view of the flood-like situation, asking the Army to be ready to help deal with any eventuality.
According to the meteorological department, at 229.5mm, Kapurthala district received the highest rainfall in the state on Monday, followed by Tarn Taran (206 mm) and Patiala (67.6 mm).
Only Mansa district (2 mm) received less rainfall distribution than normal.
With heavy showers lashing the region, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh convened an emergency meeting of officials and announced a special girdawari for assessing crop damage due to heavy rains over the past four days.
Farm experts are fearing that the heavy rains could cause result in damage to kharif crops and dip in their yield, especially in the low-lying areas of the state. Punjab has set a target of 200 lakh metric tonne of paddy output this season from 30 lakh hectares of area under sowing. Cotton is also at picking stage and rains have come as a blow for farmers.
On Monday, water level in Pong Dam was at 1385.12 feet against the maximum level of 1390 feet, the level at Bhakhra was at 1655.49 feet against maximum capacity of 1680 feet and in Ranjit Sagar Dam which feeds river Ravi was 526.65 metre against the maximum level of 527.91 metre.
Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) chief DK Sharma informed the state government that situation at Bhakhra reservoir was in control so far and they were regularly monitoring the water levels at Pong Dam.

“After the red alert was sounded on Monday morning, districts in catchment area of three rivers Satluj, Ravi and Beas have arranged boats to rescue the affected people,” said an official spokesperson.
As a precautionary measure, deputy commissioners have been asked to identify hotspots with clear evacuation and relief plans ready before hand. Equipment to drain out flood waters has been kept handy.
Earlier in the day, the flood gates of Sukhna Lake were opened to release water into Punjab. Dr G S Dhillon, former chief engineer of Punjab, said the administration should not have waited for water level to rise and then opened all three gates.
Wary of possible outbreak of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice and conjunctivitis, the health department has been asked to take preventive measures by organizing special medical checkup camps and arranging sufficient stock of medicines in this behalf.
A contingency fund to the tune of Rs 7.40 crore has been placed at the disposal of DCs to get flood protection works executed besides carrying out rescue operations.
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