Pb floods: Relief measures underway in flood-hit areas

Relief and rehabilitation measures were underway on Tuesday in flood-hit areas in Punjab, which faced worst floods since 1988.

With the threat of an epidemic outbreak looming large over flood-affected areas, teams of the health department visited villages in Jalandhar and Kapurthala.

More than 10,000 patients had been treated at medical camps till Monday, officials said, adding that civil surgeons had been asked to ensure essential medicines at the camps.

The health department also started a massive drive to educate people about vector-borne and other skin-related diseases which may occur post floods.

Food packets, water bottles, dry ration, fodder for animals tarpaulins, mosquito nets and other essential items were being supplied in flood-hit villages, the officials said.

People in several districts have lost their houses, belongings, and standing crops in the recent floods.

The state government has estimated that the damage is in the range of Rs 1,700 crore.

In Jalandhar, the district administration distributed sanitary pads to women in flood-affected villages, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said.

Tractor-trolleys and trucks were being used to provide succour to the residents of the marooned villages, he said.

Teams of veterinary doctors vaccinated more than 2,500 animals for haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS), a contagious bacterial disease, in the flood-hit villages in Jalandhar.

On Tuesday, maximum temperatures remained a few notches above normal in most parts of Punjab and Haryana.

UT Chandigarh recorded a maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, according to a report of the Meteorological Department.

In Haryana, Ambala, Hisar, Karnal recorded maximum temperatures at 36.3, 36.6 and 35.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Narnaul recorded a high of 34.9 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded maximum temperatures at 35.9, 35.7 and 36.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Light to moderate rains may occur at a few places in Punjab and Haryana in the next 72 hours, according to a forecast by the weather office.