The Punjab government approved financial assistance of Rs20,000 per acre for compensation of crop losses, with the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) warning of potential flooding in some regions amid rain forecast for many districts and expected release of over 150,000 cusecs from India into the Chenab, Sutlej and Ravi rivers within a day or two.
While chairing a meeting in Multan to review the condition of cotton, rice, sugarcane and other standing crops, Punjab Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said about 2,000 teams were conducting surveys of flood-related damages, though Chief Minister had already approved financial assistance of Rs20,000 per acre to compensate for crop losses.
He said a comprehensive action plan had also been prepared to achieve wheat sowing target, noting that measures aimed at boosting cotton production had yielded encouraging results. So far, he said, 2.65 million bales equivalent of seed cotton (phutti) were picked this year as compared to 1.846m bales obtained during the same period last year according to Crop Reporting Service statistics.
Earlier, the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an alert for rains in Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan over the next 12 to 24 hours, specifically in the upper catchment areas of Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.
On the other hand, PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia told a presser that the country was bracing for a shift in the weather, with rains expected over the next few days which may worsen the flood situation in Punjab.
Light to heavy rains are expected in various districts of Punjab from Rawalpindi to Lahore over the weekend, followed by showers on Monday in south Punjab. In the upper regions of Punjab, up to 100mm of rainfall was expected, he added.
