ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province issued a flood alert for River Sutlej and its adjoining tributaries on Monday over the possibility that India would release water from its dams within the next 72 hours.
River Sutlej is one of the five rivers that flow through Pakistan’s Punjab and runs from the Himalayas through India into eastern Pakistan. The flood alert by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab comes as monsoon rains continue to batter parts of Pakistan, killing 305 people and injuring 734 since June 26. Punjab has reported the highest casualties from rain-related incidents, 164.
In a press release, the PDMA Punjab said there is a risk of low-level flooding at the Ganda Singh village on the banks of River Sutlej over the possibility that India may release water within the next 72 hours.
“Water discharge from upstream reservoirs may increase the flow in River Sutlej,” the PDMA Punjab said. “Water levels in Indian dams have risen unusually during the past week.”
The PDMA Punjab said it has issued alerts to the commissioners of Lahore, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan cities due to the rising water levels in the river. It said alerts have also been sent to the deputy commissioners of Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, Vehari, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan cities.
