BAHAWALNAGAR: Thousands of people have been left stranded in the river Sutlej floodwaters, along with their belongings, including livestock, for the last three days, awaiting help by the administration, after a 200-foot-wide breach appeared in protective dyke at village Dalla Akuka in Chishtian tehsil.According to locals, a few days before the floodwaters reached the area, thousands of residents of eight major villages and dozens of settlements located in the river belt in Chishtian had pooled Rs50 million and built the five-kilometer-long and seven-foot-high temporary dyke that developed a breach on the evening of August 28 near the Mehta Jhidoka settlement.

The breach in the dyke not only submerged hundreds of acres of cotton, sesame, sugarcane and fodder crops, but also threatened lives of thousands of area residents and their livestock, as no significant steps have been taken by the administration for their safe evacuation yet, complain locals.

They say that that hundreds of residents of nearby villageswere working day and night to plug the breach, without any help from the administration. The water current at the site of the breach is so strong that it seems impossible to plug by the locals on their own, they add.

The floodwater, if allowed to flow, may submerge about 20,000 acres and also cause huge losses of life and property, says a local PTI legislator in a video statement.

Locals complain of lack of govt help; relief camp ‘removed’ after commissioner’s visit to Minchinabad tehsil

Two days ago, another 5km-long and 10-feet wide protective dyke, constructed by locals at a cost of approximately Rs150m at Dhakapattan in Minchinabad had breached, allowing the floodwaters to inundate hundreds of acres of land and displacing people living there.

According to a report released by the deputy commissioner’s office on August 28 (a copy of available with Dawn), 105 mauzas of the district have so far been affected by the recent flooding. Of these villages, 44 fall in Minchinabad, 43 in Bahawalnagar and 18 in Chishtian tehsil.

It says that about 100,000 acres of land and 6,695 houses have been affected by the floodwaters so far, adding that 157 more mauzas may be affected if more floodwater arrives, it added.

Revenue department sources say that a medium-to-high flood has breached dozens of protective dykes built by the locals in the three tehsils of the district at a cost of millions of rupees.

Responding to the complaints regarding a low number of Flood Relief Centres (FRCs), lack of facilities and inadequate evacuation arrangements for the flood-hit people in the district, Bahawalnagar DC Zulfiqar Ahmad told Dawn that after the dykes at Sahoka, Akoka and Mari Chakkoka developed breaches, the number of boat camps have been increased from 10 to 40 in the area. He adds that the FRCs have also been moved closer to the flood-affected areas, where proper arrangements have been made, including food and accommodation. He says that he is personally monitoring these facilities.

He says that control rooms have been set up at every tehsil headquarters, where people were getting immediate help by calling on helplines 1122 and 1718. According to the DC, arrangements are being made to deliver cooked food to the flood-hit people who are staying at their homes in all the affected areas, along with fodder for their livestock.

Some local revenue officials, seeking anonymity, say that the construction of proper protective dykes at Dhak Pattan (Minchinabad), Bhokan Pattan (Bahawalnagar) and Akoka and Sahoka Pattans (Chishtian) along the river belt could significantly reduce further losses. However, despite being one of the longest river belts in Punjab and the fact that Bahawalnagar district has been affected by floods several times in the past, the administration had not constructed even a single dyke yet.

They say that the protective dykes built by locals on their own, breach quickly because of lack of technical knowledge and inappropriate locations, resulting in more damage.

A senior revenue official says that the construction of a protective dyke from Head Sulemanki to Minchinabad could save the tehsil (Minchinabad) from the devastation caused by floodwaters. However, he says that the administration was reluctant to execute the project, although the locals were ready to bear its entire cost.

The DC admits that the construction of dykes could certainly help prevent the destruction by floodwaters, but says that it was the job of the irrigation department, which has so far built not even a single dyke in the district.

He says that in their respective areas, people built small dykes on self-help basis to protect their lands from floodwaters, which aer not technically sound and sometimes caused more damage.

He says that 19 FRCs have been established in the three tehsils of the district for the evacuation and accommodation of the flood-hit people, which are operational around the clock.

He adds that 96,330 people, along with 43,838 cattle heads, have been safely evacuated from the flood-affected areas so far, and due to the hard work of the rescue teams, there has been no loss of life in the district so far.

On the other hand, in several videos being posted on social media, the flood-hit people are appealing to the administration to provide them help, alleging that most of the FRCs are meant for “mere photo shoots”.

They complain that the numbers of the FRCs and rescue boats in the area are very low, and that these relief centres have been established far from the affected areas. A large number of teh affected people have been forced to live helplessly under the open sky, they add.

According to locals, the FRCs not only lack fodder for their animals, but also short of proper medicine for their treatment.

Some of the flood-hit persons alleged in a social media video that the Minchinabad tehsil administration installed 70 tents atthe Government Boys High School, McLeod Ganj, on August 26, before a visit of the Bahawalpur commissioner, and as soon as the officer left, 65 of the camps were removed.

Revenue sources confirm that before the arrival of the commissioner, there were only six to seven tents in the school with inadequate facilities. But, the number of the camps was increased to 70 tents by the tehsil administration in view of the commissioner’s arrival and stalls of various departments were also set up there. However, immediately after the commissioner’s visit, a large number of tents were removed from the school, they add.

In response to an inquiry by the DC, the Minchinabad AC claimed in his written explanation that the tents were removed for cleaning as they had become wet due to the rain.

The DC says that social media was being properly monitored and the genuine complaints were being addressed after tracing the complainants uploading videos for help.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025