Floodwaters Inundate Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan's Narowal

Lahore, Aug 27: Floodwaters from the Ravi River have inundated the Kartarpur Corridor, including the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, leaving more than 100 people stranded in Pakistan Punjab's Narowal district. Officials reported the situation on Wednesday.

"The entire Kartarpur Corridor complex, including Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, has been submerged by high floodwater," stated Saifullah Khokar, who heads the Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit. Rescue operations are in progress, with boats and a helicopter employed to evacuate trapped individuals.

As per Narowal Deputy Commissioner Hasan Raza, hundreds of residents have been evacuated from affected areas. India's release of water into the Ravi River caused it to exceed its capacity.

Currently, the Ravi River is flowing at 155,000 cusecs at Kot Nain in Shakargarh tehsil, surpassing its holding capacity of 150,000 cusecs.

India communicated flood warnings to Pakistan on Sunday through diplomatic channels on "humanitarian grounds." This marked the first official contact between the nations since their four-day conflict in May.

After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India imposed various punitive measures on Pakistan, including placing the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in "abeyance." Under ordinary circumstances, flood alerts are exchanged through the Indus Water Commission.

Vast swathes of farmland have been submerged, causing damage to rice crops and animal fodder, officials noted.

Deputy Commissioner Raza remarked that heavy rains over the past 24 hours, along with overflow from drains in Auj, Bayan, and Dek, have exacerbated the flooding. Villages and crop fields have been inundated, prompting residents to relocate to safer regions.

Authorities have issued warnings and alerts as nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from flood-prone areas across Punjab up to Tuesday. Rising water levels have been flagged in nearly all eastern rivers.