Water from the overflowing Ravi River in Pakistan has entered the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib premises and the corresponding corridor. The water level in the Ravi has risen following the excess release of water from the Ranjit Sagar Dam. Inderjit Singh, an employee at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, told The Indian Express that the water level inside the premises is as much as six feet high. “But by God’s grace, the Guru Granth Sahib is installed on the first floor and all the Guru’s sacred Birs are safe and being cared for,” Singh further said.
The flood-like situation occurred due to a heavy downpour in India’s Punjab, which forced the authorities to release excessive water from the Ranjit Sagar Dam in Pathankot district into the Ravi River, causing it to flow above its usual mark. The visuals shared by a Pakistani traveller account, in a Facebook post named Travel with Waqas Haider, showed the entire premises of the historic gurdwara, including the central area, submerged by around 10 feet due to water overflow in the Ravi.
More than 100 people stranded in Darbar Sahib
Officials told PTI that over 100 people were stranded as floodwaters inundated the Kartarpur Corridor and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. “The entire Kartarpur Corridor complex, including Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, has been submerged by high floodwater,” Saifullah Khokar, head of the Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit, told PTI. Khokar further said that the trapped people, mostly staff members of the Kartarpur Project Management Unit, were being rescued by boats and a helicopter.
The Ravi River is located on the border between India and Pakistan at Dera Baba Nanak, and Sri Darbar Sahib Gurudwara is located across the river. Adding to the crisis, water levels in the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers, along with several seasonal rivulets, have surged due to continuous rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Governmental measures
As per a PTI report, the release of excess water from the Pong, Bhakra, and Ranjit Sagar dams has worsened the flooding. The most affected regions are Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Hoshiarpur, where floodwaters have disrupted daily life.
In response to the crisis, the Punjab government has set up a central flood control room at the Circuit House in Jalandhar to coordinate emergency operations and ensure timely relief.