High flood in River Chenab puts Qadirabad at risk

GUJRANWALA: High flood level in River Chenab has put the Qadirabad Headworks at Hafizabad at high risk while the city is also facing danger of getting submerged in the flood water.

Hundreds of villages have been badly affected, several marooned, by exceptionally high flash floods in the rivers Chenab and Jhelum and devastating torrential rains in the districts of Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Sheikhupura of central Punjab.



Punjab government has declared emergency in the affected areas and launched full scale rescue and relief operations. Pakistan army has already been called in to assist the district administration in the flood-hit areas for evacuation and rescue purposes.

As many as 85 far off Bajwat bordering villages remained cut off from rest of Sialkot district due to flash floods in overflowing River Chenab, River Tavi and River Jammu Munaawar. Reportedly hundreds of people were lying stranded there in Bajwat villages. However, rescue and relief activities were there despite the continued torrential rains.

The rescuers of rescue 1122 Sialkot saved as many as seven persons stranded and trapped in the faster flow of flash flood water in River Chenab, Head Marala Sialkot. Sialkot DCO Nadeem Sarwar told that district administration of Sialkot has declared flood emergency in Sialkot district.

District admin on Friday made public announcements through the loudspeakers of the local mosques urging people of Bajwat villages to remain alert. According to senior officials of the Sialkot Irrigation Department, the flood water splashed over the banks of flash flooded River Chenab near Sambrial Sialkot district due to which the hundreds of the acres of land was inundated.

They said that Chenab flood water also inundated as many as 12 villages of two union councils Randheer UC and Habeebabad UC in Sambrial tehsil. The officials confirmed that as many as 60 cattle including buffaloes cows and goats were also drowned in faster flow of Chenab flood water there.

They said that rescue and relief activities were on in flood hit Sambrial villages. Assistant Commissioner Sambrial Munawar Hussain Malik told that Rescue 1122 rescuers were shifting the local stranded people in villages Chak Ikhtiyaar Randheer in Sambrial tehsil to the safer places through two boats River Chenab was in flash flood at Head Marala barrage near Sialkot as a peak of 485,000 cusecs in River Chenab was passing through the Head Marala barrage near Sialkot at that moment.

The flash flood peak was moving towards Wazirabad, Gujrat and Head Khanki. As many as 12 villages near Qila Ahmedabad, Zafarwal, Narowal were also inundated due to flash flood in Naullah Dek as the flow of flood water was 35,000 cusecs there. These villages were cut of the rest of the both Sialkot and Narowal districts.

River Chenab was in flash flood at Head Marala barrage near Sialkot as a peak of 485,000 cusecs in River Chenab was passing through the Head Marala barrage near Sialkot at that moment.

The flash flood peak was moving towards Wazirabad, Gujrat and Head Khanki. There was a flash flood in River Chenab at Head Marala near Sialkot as the water level today soured up to 660,271 cusecs in River Chenab as the flood water was continuously souring up in Chenab here due to the ongoing fresh spell of torrential rains in Sialkot region.

Flood Forecasting Division has issued the high flood warning to Sialkot district administration saying that there could be very high flood in River Chenab at Head Marala barrage near Sialkot on Sep 06 and 07, 2014.

Focal Person Malik Abid Hussain Awan, District Officer Coordination DOC Sialkot told after the high level flood warning in River Chenab River Tavi and Naullahs Aik Dek and Palkhu here in Sialkot district issued by the Flood Forecasting Division all the concerned government departments had been put on red alert and asked to make all the necessary arrangements on emergency grounds to avert the recurring flood disasters in Sialkot district.

Focal Person Malik Abid Hussain Awan told all the concerned departments have been put on red alert as they were continuously monitoring the flood situation in River Chenab at Head Marala Barrage near Sialkot here. He added that the water level also soured up to 12,834 cusecs in River Tavi and 2,300 cusecs in River Jammu Munaawar near Bajwat Sialkot which also flow along the River Chenab here as all of these Chenab Tavi and Jammu Munaawar originate from neighbouring Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and enter into Pakistan near Sialkot.

DOC added that though the water level was souring up in these rivers and seasonal Naullahs Dek with 24600 cusecs Aik with 22856 cusecs Palkhu with 2270 cusecs and Bhed due to the fresh spell of ongoing flash rains however the whole flood situation was total under control saying that all the concerned government departments were monitoring the flood situation round the clock here.

Sialkot DCO Nadeem Sarwar added that Sialkot district has already been divided into 22 sectors to avert the recurring flood threats under a foolproof flood protection plan besides establishing as many as 33 flood relief centers in Sialkot district s all the four Sialkot Daska Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils.

He revealed that all the concerned departments had been put on red alert. He said that the special vigilance teams were monitoring the flood situation in River Chenab round the clock.