The boy, identified as Jagjit Singh, had gone to fetch fodder for cattle. (Representational)A 17-year-old boy from Dhandi Kadim village in Fazilka district, which is surrounded by water, was washed away in a creek of Sutlej river on Friday afternoon.
The boy, identified as Jagjit Singh, had gone to fetch fodder for cattle. The incident happened around 1 pm, however, no rescue teams have reached the spot till the time of filing this report. Private divers were hired by the administration and they haven’t recovered his body yet.
Dhandi Kadim and five other villages in Jalalabad — Dhandi Khurd, Bodle Khurd, Peere ke Hithar, Santokh Singh Wala and Natha Singh Wala — have been surrounded by water. These villages are surrounded by Pakistan from three sides and Sutlej from the fouth side.
“Water has reached in the creeks of Sutlej in these villages apart from the fields. But it hasn’t reached the houses and the water has started receeding,” Jalalabad Sub-Divisional Magistrate Keshav Goyal told The Indian Express.
Though flood alert was given in Fazilka district, the authorities have not kept rescue teams on standby mode. Asked about this, the authorities said that the conditions were under control in Jalalabad as no evacuation of villagers was needed.
MP Sukhbir yet to visit flood-hit areas
Jalalabad falls in the Ferozepur constituency, which is represent by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Though Sukhbir, in a video message, stated that Punjab government was ill-prepared in their arrangements and he asked his workers to help the affected people, the Ferozepur MP is yet to visit the flood-hit areas in his constituency.
Meanwhile in Ferozepur, over 30 villages are affected due to flood and more than 700 persons have been evacuated by the NDRF and the Army collectively.
