Punjab battles floods worse than 1988 as Ravi river submerges Amritsar villages

Punjab floods

Rescue teams in India’s Punjab are battling rising floodwaters from the Ravi river, with numerous villages submerged and a major town under threat, as authorities warn the situation is more critical than the region’s devastating 1988 floods.

According to a report from TOI, the Ramdas area, which was accessible by vehicle just a day earlier, is now completely inundated. District officials, led by Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, were forced to abandon their vehicles and switch to tractors to oversee rescue operations as roads became impassable.

The crisis was triggered by continuous rain in the plains and hilly areas, which caused dams, including the Ranjit Sagar to overflow. As reported by TOI, this culminated in a breach of an earthen embankment in Ajnala, affecting around 40 villages in total so far.

Relief teams from the district administration, the Border Security Force (BSF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been engaged in relentless operations since early morning to evacuate residents and livestock. Indian Army personnel arrived late on Wednesday with boats to assist, a crucial intervention for cases where tractors and other vehicles fail.

Local residents expressed grave concerns that the rising waters could soon overflow into the Sakhi Nullah, posing a direct and significant threat to Ajnala town itself. The highway, built at an elevated level, is currently acting as a temporary barrier, but its capacity to hold back the water is diminishing.

Echoing the fears of many, resident Manpreet Singh from Chamiyari village provided a sobering comparison to TOI: "I was a young boy during the 1988 floods and still remember the devastation. However, this time the situation is far worse, with over two dozen villages submerged and a serious threat posed to Ajnala."

Confirming the escalating situation, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney stated that water levels were continuing to rise and that NDRF teams were conducting rescues using boats. She added that additional NDRF teams from Bathinda were en route and that assistance from the Indian Army was being mobilised for further evacuations.

Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, who visited the flood-affected areas, attributed the disaster to the overwhelming inflow from the overflowing Ranjit Sagar dam and the Ujh river, which caused critical damage to the dhussi (earthen) embankments of the Ravi.