GUJRAT: The river Chenab floodwaters continued on Thursday to wreak havoc in the rural areas of Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad districts, affecting over 200 villages in the area.

Officials say that most of the affected villages fall in Hafizabad district and Phalia tehsil of Mand Bahauddin. These villages have been inundated by the floodwaters after the protective embankment at Bahu Manga was breached to save the Qadirabad Headworks.

The floodwaters submerged fields, outhouses, residential localities and settlements, causing heavy financial losses to the local population.

Though the water level at the Qadirabad Headworks has reduced, the surrounding rural areas have been inundated by three to four feet water on both sides of the river.

Official sources say that the breaching the embankment incurred more losses to the rural populations in at least 150 villages of Hafizabad district which is located on the lower left side of the river, whereas at least 68 villages of Phalia tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin have been affected.

The sources say that the floodwaters also entered Qadirabad town and some of its adjoining localities, causing problems for the residents.

The flooding of the area damaged the livestock, crops, fish farms and houses as hundreds of locals were trapped in the floodwaters in a bid to secure their cattle heads.

The road infrastructure, electricity supply and other necessities were also affected adversely because of the flooding, says an official of Hafizabad district administration.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister’s Coordinator MNA Saira Afzal Tarrar, along with Gujranwala Commissioner Naveed Haider Sheerazi and Hafizabad DC Abdul Razzaq visited the Qadirabad Headworks and the rural localities affected by the Chenab floodwaters on Thursday.

According to Hafizabad district rescue officials, at least 1,200 people and over 800 cattle heads have been rescued and evacuated from the affected areas so far, whereas flood relief camps have also been established there.

In Gujrat, the local administration launched the relief operations in at least 77 flood-hit villages along the banks of the river Chenab following the evacuations and rescue operations, which continued late on Wednesday night.

The flood-hit people were provided food hampers by local philanthropists and Alkhidmat Foundation, in coordination with the district administration.

Gujrat DC Nurulain Qureshi says work has been started to assess the losses caused by floodwaters in the district as per the chief minister’s directions, whereas relief operations in various affected areas are also underway.

Meanwhile, the body of an unidentified middle-aged man has been retrieved from floodwaters at Kathala Chenab village.

The local authorities believe that the body might have been swept by floodwaters from the Sialkot side, as they did not receive any complaint regarding any missing person in Gujrat district so far.

The rescue officials, however, complained about the non-cooperation by some locals trapped in the Chenab riverbed near Jalalpur Jattan.

An official says that his team rescued 50-60 people after making several trips in the riverbed against the water flow, but around 10 of the stranded people refused to leave, insisting they have to look after their cattle even at the risk of their own lives.

According to the officials, the water level in the Palkhu drain has also started receding, bringing a sigh of relief to the residents of Wazirabad town.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2025