After SYL breach, situation in Patiala grave, govt asks for more Army columns

After SYL breach, situation in Patiala grave, govt asks for more Army columns

Chandigarh:  With the passing of every hour, the situation in Patiala seems to be turning grave as the Punjab government has sought the help of more Army personnel to deal with floods in the district. In a communication sent to the Adviser of Civil Military Affairs of GOC-in-C Secretariat at the Western Command in Chandimandir, the Punjab Home Secretary has requested for ‘urgent’ deployment of more Army personnel to help in rescuing the people.

The Army had arrived on Sunday night and is helping with the rescue operation in the district. “Now, there is further requirement of urgent assistance at Gopal Colony as the Badi Nadi is also overflowing and the district administration would also need to have assistance at standby for Patran and Devigarh,” the Home Secretary said.

The government has acted on the request received from the Patiala Deputy Commissioner, who had conveyed to the government that there is an assessment of a grave situation of flooding arising due to continuous rains. “District Magistrate, Patiala, has conveyed that there has been a breach of the SYL at different parts of the district. There is an urgent requirement of manpower and resources to plug the breach. All possible resources have been mobilised at the district level and through the NDRF.

“Keeping in view the prevailing situation of incessant rain and grave situation of flooding, you are requested to provide a suitable number of internal security columns of the Army to mitigate the situation,” said the communication sent by the government to the Army.