Indian water floods Pakistani villages

Updated at: 0254 PST, Monday, August 18, 2008
LAHORE: Hundreds of villages in Pakistani Punjab flooded, as India released countless waters in the Sutlej River, said sources in the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) here Sunday.

The Okara district’s areas Baseerpur, Mandi Ahmed Abad, Haveli Lakha and dozens of villages alongside Head Sulemanki were inundated with Indian floodwater.

The flood inflicted huge damages to standing crops of paddy and cotton, roads, houses and other infrastructures in these areas that caused numerous problems for the rescuers to shift the local people to safer places, they added.

Now the flood is heading from Head Sulemanki towards Pakpattan, where thousands of people are being shifted to safe places from 30 villages including Pir Ghani, Jagga Baloch, Hota and Beli Dilawar.

The FFD authorities said that the flood would approach Pakpattan on Sunday evening, predicting floods in districts of Kasur, Bahawalnagar and Vehari.

According to the FFD report, Sutlej River at Ganda Singh Wala and Sulemanki is likely to remain in low to medium flood during next 24 hours.

However, Kabul River at Nowshera is in medium flood, while Indus River at Chashma, Taunsa and Guddu, and Ravi River at Balloki are in low floods.