Monsoon weakens, no major rise expected in Punjab river flows: PDMA

LAHORE: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has said that the intensity of the monsoon season has reduced and no further major increase in Punjab rivers’ flows is expected, ARY News reported.

According to the Director General of PDMA, the spell of monsoon rains in the upper catchment areas has also ended, while the tenth spell of monsoon rains in Punjab has now concluded.

The PDMA reported that no heavy rainfall is expected in Punjab during the coming week. However, high to very high flood levels persist in several rivers.

At Ganda Singh Wala on the Sutlej River, an extremely high flood has been recorded with a water flow of 230,000 cusecs. At Sulemanki, the Sutlej is at a high flood level with 137,000 cusecs.

On the Chenab River, the water flow at Marala is 62,000 cusecs. At Khanki headworks, a low flood of 98,000 cusecs has been reported, while Qadirabad also faces a low flood with the same flow of 98,000 cusecs. At Trimmu, the water flow has reached 250,000 cusecs. At Panjnad, authorities recorded an extremely high flood of 475,000 cusecs.

On the Ravi River, the flow at Jassar stands at 26,000 cusecs, while at Shahdara it is 31,000 cusecs. At Balloki headworks, a medium-level flood is ongoing with 80,000 cusecs, while at Sidhnai the river is at a high flood level with 121,000 cusecs.

The PDMA said that all departments are on alert as per the directives of the Chief Minister of Punjab. Resources are being fully utilised to protect the lives and property of citizens, and continuous monitoring of river flows is underway.

Also Read: Pakistan govt plans major relief for flood victims

Meanwhile, the Pakistan government has decided to introduce relief for flood-affected communities, including measures for crop and livestock losses, announced Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain.

“A special farmers’ package will soon be introduced to compensate for agricultural and livestock damages,” the minister said in his statement.

He said that tax exemptions will be provided on electricity bills in flood-hit areas. “The federal government will bear the relief in electricity bills, while provincial governments will waive land revenue,” he added.