A shortage of engines has hobbled flood relief operations in Punjab, as the government has only 114 functional engines for its fleet of 257 boats.
According to a report by The Indian Express, NGOs and other organizations have alleged that most of the boats owned by the state government were busy ferrying ministers and MLAs to flood-hit villages, forcing them to buy their own motorised boats to carry out relief works.
The data accessed by The Indian Express from Punjab government’s department of revenue, rehabilitation and disaster management that only 114 of the state's 257 government-owned boats can be motorized, largely due to a shortage of engines. This severely limits the state's ability to respond to emergencies, particularly during the monsoon season when Punjab's perennial rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) cause widespread flooding.
Of 257 boats, 127 are made of metal and 83 of fibre and other materials, which are “heavy and get stuck often”, the rescuers were quoted by The Indian Express as saying. The government has just 47 inflatable boats which “work best in situations like floods.”
“Manual boats without motors just can’t work in floods as they require a lot of physical effort and time which delays rescue and relief,” a rescuer was quoted as saying.
In addition to the state government-owned boats, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Army are having their own boats for relief operations.
A total of 257 boats translates to an average of 11 boats per district, the report added. However, the district-wise data revealed that the boats they are unevenly distributed. As per the report, the districts worst-hit by floods and situated near the rivers have lesser boats compared to landlocked ones, and in some cases, if districts have boats, they don’t have enough engines.
For instance, among the districts worst-hit by floods, Amritsar has just four boats and two engines, Fazilka 32 boats but just 2 engines, Gurdaspur 7 boats and 4 engines and Kapurthala 7 boats but not a single engine. Pathankot has 4 boats but 2 engines, Nawanshahr has 12 boats but just 3 engines and Hoshiarpur has 11 eleven boats and 5 engines. The border district Tarn Taran has just one boat but 3 engines while Ferozepur has 30 boats and 19 engines. Jalandhar has 10 boats but only 3 engines.
On the other hand, Mansa which has been comparatively less hit by floods, has 27 boats and 19 engines, Patiala has 52 boats and 32 engines while Sangrur has 12 boats and 3 engines. Mohali has 6 boats but not a single engine, Muktsar has four boats but no engine and Ludhiana has 12 boats and 4 engines. Malerkotla is the only district which neither has a boat, nor any engine.
‘In process of buying nine new motorboats’
Manvesh Singh Sidhu, who holds the charge of Punjab secretary revenue and rehabilitation, told The Indian Express: “We have 114 engines so the equal number of boats available with district administrations can be run in motorized mode. Apart from state-government owned boats, the NDRF and Army are having their own boats. If the NGOs need a boat, they can get in touch with respective deputy commissioners and it will be arranged if the demand is genuine. In some cases, relief is being distributed multiple times in the same areas. We are in the process of buying nine new motorboats for Kapurthala, Taran Taran etc.”
When asked if the boats from landlocked districts can be moved to flood-hit ones, Sidhu told IE: “No district surrenders its own assets as there can be an emergency anytime. We have less boats in Pathankot as it has sufficient Army boats.”
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