LAHORE: Pakistani authorities conducted a controlled explosion of a dam embankment to manage surging floodwaters from three rain-swollen rivers.
The emergency measure at Qadirabad dam on the Chenab River aimed to reduce water pressure and prevent structural failure amid unprecedented monsoon flooding.
“To save the structure, we have breached the right marginal embankment so that the flow of the water reduces,“ said Mazhar Hussain, spokesperson for Punjab’s disaster management agency.
Flooding has completely submerged the Kartarpur temple, one of Sikhism’s holiest sites where faith founder Guru Nanak died in 1539.
Rescue teams dispatched five boats to evacuate approximately 100 people stranded at the religious complex near the Indian border.
Three transboundary rivers in eastern Pakistan have reached exceptionally high levels due to heavy rainfall across the border in India.
The disaster management authority issued emergency alerts throughout Punjab province, which contains nearly half of Pakistan’s 255 million residents.
Authorities deployed army personnel to assist with evacuating tens of thousands of people and livestock near the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed that India provided advanced notice through diplomatic channels before releasing water from upstream dams.
Indian government officials have not publicly commented on the water release allegations.
Provincial disaster chief Irfan Ali urgently advised residents to evacuate floodplains along the Ravi River immediately.
“I urge the public to evacuate the floodplains along the Ravi River, as the water flow is the highest since 1988,“ he stated.
The flood surge is expected to pass through Lahore, Punjab’s capital city, overnight and into Thursday morning.
Pakistan has experienced a brutal monsoon season with torrential rains triggering landslides and floods that have killed more than 800 people since June. – AFP
