6,600 shifted to safer sites as Punjab battles flood waters

Punjab is battling one of its worst floods in recent years as incessant monsoon rains left at least 835 villages inundated across the state, even as the administration and the India Army were carrying out round-the-clock relief and rescue operations, shifting around 6,600 people to safety, officials said on Thursday.

- Navrajdeep Singh

Besides the army, personnel from the Border Security Force, Indian Air Force and National Disaster Response Force are also engaged in relief and rescue operations, the officials said.

The army has deployed amphibious all-terrain vehicles, or ATORs, and boats to rescue people stranded in areas inundated by the rising waters of the river Ravi.

A total of 28 army columns, including medical and communication teams, have been deployed to provide ground support, evacuation assistance, restoration of connectivity, and medical aid, a defence spokesperson said, adding that army aviation assets, including three Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and nine Cheetah helicopters, were deployed to rescue stranded civilians from rooftops in flooded areas.