Floods ravage Indian state killing 30 and submerging 1,400 villages

At least 30 people have died and more than 354,000 have been affected by heavy rains and floods in the north Indian state of Punjab.

Authorities have declared all of the state’s 23 districts flood-hit, after rivers and reservoirs swelled to near-danger levels.

Some 20,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying and flood-affected areas, with hundreds of relief camps set up to provide shelter and essential facilities to the affected families.

Appealing to the country to “stand by the state”, Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said these were the worst floods the state had seen since 1988.

Punjab is often referred to as the “food basket” of India and is a major source for agricultural production, particularly of staples like wheat and rice.

The government says there has been extensive crop damage on some 148,000 hectares of agricultural land, which has been submerged under water.

A quarter of Punjab’s 30 million people depend on agriculture, raising immediate concern about rural livelihoods.

Torrential downpours have caused water level in the state’s Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers to rise to dangerous levels, putting hundreds of low-lying areas at risk. Many reservoirs are also reported to be nearing full capacity.

People living on the banks of the Sutlej river told the BBC they are keeping vigil on the water levels throughout the night to ensure their safety.

“The water is high. The dam is seeping… Wherever it breaks, we fix it with sacks,” Jasveer Singh, a resident of Sabra village told BBC Punjabi.

Multiple disaster response teams, along with the Indian army, airforce and the navy, are helping with the rescue operations. Some 35 helicopters and more than100 boats have been pressed into service.

On Tuesday, chief minister Mann toured the flood-hit Ferozepur district by boat. He said the situation was grim and sought funds from the federal government to deal with the crisis.

India’s weather agency said the floods are being caused by the repeated interactions between monsoon currents and weather systems like westerly disturbances.

This has also brought unusually heavy rains to several other parts of northern India, it said.

Across the Indian border, floods have also devastated Pakistan’s Punjab province, affecting some two million people over the past few weeks.

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