Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said the situation in the state will improve considerably as weather remained clear at most places in the region after three days of incessant rains.
Mann said 13,574 persons in Patiala, Roopnagar, Moga, Ludhiana, Mohali, SBS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Tarn Taran and Jalandhar have been evacuated from the flood ravaged areas to safer places.
He said all the dams in the state are safe and water is flowing below the danger mark. Priority is being given to carry rescue and relief work in the badly affected areas of the state.
Divulging about the relief efforts, an official spokesperson said 1058 villages of 14 districts have been ravaged by the flood fury with Roopnagar accounting for most of them.
Out of these affected villages, 364 belong to Roopnagar, 268 fall in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, 250 in Patiala, 71 in Jalandhar, 30 in Moga, 25 in Hoshiarpur, 16 in Ludhiana, three each in Sangrur and Ferozepur and six in Tarn Taran.
The spokesperson said during the past 24 hours, three people died who hailed from Faridkot. Till now, 49 houses have been completely destroyed whereas partial damage has occurred to 180 houses.
The Relief and Rehabilitation Department is undertaking disbursal of relief material and organizing relief camps in the different districts affected by the floods. The department has held 127 such camps so far out of which 14 have been held in 14, 16 in Roopnagar, seven in Moga, three in Ludhiana, 22 in Mohali, two each in SBS Nagar and Sangrur, 18 in Ferozepur, three in Hoshiarpur, seven in Tarn Taran, and 33 in Jalandhar.
In order to intensify relief efforts, boats have been provided too with Patiala getting 21, Roopnagar 24, Mohali five, Fatehgarh Sahib four and Ferozepur 15.
The CM said he is monitoring the situation every moment by taking regular updates from across the state. He said an elaborate mechanism has been put in place to safeguard the life and property of people from the increasing level of water.