25,000 displaced as flood hits 25 villages

Current flood in River Chenab, Jammu Tavi and seasonal waterway Dek in Sialkot district has affected at least 25 villages and displaced more than 25,000 people, officials said here, on Friday. However, no loss of life and injured persons has so far been reported from any part of the district, they claimed.
The Chaprar-Salehpur Bridge, located in Chaprar, tehsil Sialkot had been damaged badly by the heavy flash flood in River Jammu Tavi as a result of which source of communication was disrupted and people were facing serious hardships.
Apart from this, eight other small and big bridges were also submerged in the floodwater, reports reaching here said.
Rescue operation was in full swing in all flood-stricken areas of the district, where army jawans, civil defence volunteers and local people were busy in evacuating the stranded people, officials said.
Meanwhile, District Co-ordination Officer Sialkot, Shafiq-ur-Rehman, said that overall position of the flood was under control in the district.
The DCO said that food packets were being dropped through helicopters in flood-hit areas of the district. In addition to this, relief camps had also been set up for providing food and medical facilities to the flood victim communities, he said.
He said that Sialkot district had been divided into 12 sectors and 50 sub-sectors while 50 relief camps had already been set up in the district, adding that all sectors and sub-sectors were functioning day and night effectively.
Rehman claimed that 22 people, including children and women were rescued by the army teams when their tractor-trolley was entrapped in heavy floods of River Jammu Tavi.
The DCO said that special teams would be constituted soon for ascertaining the exact losses of crops and other property in the district.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet division, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, also visited various flood-hit villages of Chaprar area.
Speaking on the occasion, she said that all resources were being mobilised for providing relief to the flood-victims on top priority basis.
Dr Firdous urged upon the people, who were living nearer to River Chenab, river Jammu Tavi banks should proceed to safer places.
Later, she also visited various relief camps and reviewed the arrangements there.