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Chandigarh/Amritsar: Punjab’s flood situation worsened on Sunday as incessant rainfall lashed several districts, leaving the Ghaggar and Beas rivers in spate and causing fresh inundation across large parts of the state. The Ravi river, which had witnessed a discharge of 14.11 lakh cusecs just four days ago, has pushed massive volumes of water towards Ajnala (Amritsar), flooding the town and 15 nearby villages. Officials said the situation would ease only after the flow moves downstream into Pakistan.

Ajnala MLA Kuldeep Dhaliwal said most parts of his border constituency were under water. “The destruction is widespread. The Centre should come to Punjab’s aid immediately,” he urged. So far, 26 people have lost their lives in the floods, including an irrigation department employee who drowned last week while attempting to open floodgates at the Madhopur barrage on the Ravi.

According to officials, more than 1,000 villages have been affected, both due to rivers breaching embankments and controlled water releases from upstream reservoirs. On Sunday morning, the Beas river swelled again, recording 2.35 lakh cusecs at Dhilwan near flood-hit Sultanpur Lodhi, following fresh discharges from Chakki. The Ghaggar River too rose sharply with inflows from the Markanda and Tangri rivers. Water levels at Chika (Haryana), Khanauri (Sangrur), and Sardulgarh (Mansa) remained high but still below the danger mark. The administration has issued alerts in adjoining areas.

In Hoshiarpur, torrential rain led to water entering several villages, compounding the distress. Relief and rescue operations are underway across eight of the worst-affected districts: Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, and Kapurthala. Apart from the civil and police administration, the Army, Air Force, NDRF, and BSF are actively engaged in evacuations and the supply of relief material.