Amritsar/Hoshiarpur, Aug. 26 -- Heavy rainfall in their catchment areas continues to swell the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers, pushing them to dangerous levels and plunging Punjab deeper into the prevailing flood crisis. The release of surplus water from the Pong, Bhakra and Ranjit Sagar dams has compounded matters, inundating large swathes of farmland and villages in districts located along the three rivers. District administrations in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Fazilka and Ferozepur have ordered schools shut for one to three days, and issued evacuation advisories to flood-hit villages as waters continue to rise. Sensing the scale of the disaster, the state government has set up a central flood control centre in Jalandhar to monitor and coordinate relief, while also roping in the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to aid the district administrations and police in rescue operations. Relief camps for evacuees have been established in several districts, with teams from health, animal husbandry, water supply and sanitation, and revenue departments actively working in impacted villages. The Majha region, comprising Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, and flanked by all three rivers, is bearing the brunt of the flood havoc. Due to continuous rainfall in the hilly and plain areas over the past few days, the Ravi river, Ujh river, Jalaliya, Chakki, various canals and drains flowing through Pathankot district have been running beyond capacity. The public had already been alerted in advance. This morning, water was released from the Ranjit Sagar Dam at Shahpurkandi, causing a rise in the water level of the Ravi. Near Rajpura village, close to Shahpurkandi, a family belonging to the Gujjar community was trapped in the rising waters. Pathankot administration, in coordination with the NDRF, rescued Sani Muhammad, 68, Reshma, 52, Bina, 28, and Master Sultan Ali, 2, safely from the water. They were provided medical assistance and are now in stable condition. Punjab food, civil supplies and consumer affairs Lal Chand Kataruchak visited the flood-hit villages near the India-Pakistan border in Pathankot district, and said the state government will compensate for the losses suffered by the affected villagers. Pathankot deputy commissioner Aditya Uppal appealed to people to stay away from riverbanks. He said two relief camps had been set up in Pathankot at Radha Soami Satsang Beas Centre and Gurdwara Barath Sahib. In Gurdaspur, large quantity of water released from Ranjit Sagar dam destroyed crops in Dera Baba Nanak area. Village Makora, its nearby villages and seven villages, which are situated between the Ravi and the international border, were trapped by flooding water. The water ruined the crops and cattle feed, said sarpanch of Makora. Due to the incessant rains since Sunday, the water level at Harike Headworks has been continuously rising, proving disastrous for the Harike-Hathar region. According to information received from the Regulation Department office at Harike Headworks, on Monday evening the inflow at the upstream of Harike Head was 2,03,842 cusecs, out of which 1,85,000 cusecs of water was being released downstream. The continuously increasing water is also steadily eroding the Dhusi Bandh in the Hathar area. Near Sabhra village, for the past several days, under the leadership of the Sarhali-based Kar Sewa organisation, villagers along with volunteers from surrounding areas have been working day and night to protect the bandh. The water flowing from the Beas and Sutlej rivers into Harike Headworks has already ravaged thousands of acres of crops in several villages in Tarn Taran district. The water released downstream from Harike Headworks has submerged thousands of acres of crops in the villages of Tarn Taran and Ferozepur districts in the Harike Hathar area. Social security, women and child development minister Dr Baljit Kaur visited Fazilka district, where she appealed to residents living along the Sutlej creek to shift women, children and the elderly to safer places without delay. Visiting the flood-hit villages of Teja Ruhela and Chakk Ruhela in Fazilka, the minister said water being released from Harike Headworks was expected to enter Fazilka through the Sutlej creek by Tuesday, further swelling the river. "The situation is serious and people must fully cooperate with the administration to ensure no loss of life," she said. On Monday evening, a team led by additional deputy commissioner (General) Damanjit Mann also reached the low-lying areas of Ferozepur, where over 30 villages are flooded, to persuade them to move to safer places. Tendiwala and Kaluwala besides rural town Mallanwala are among the worst affected, with breaches in the riverbank submerging houses, roads and vast stretches of farmland. In Mallanwala, floodwaters have swamped over 10 villages, reaching up to 10 feet in fields, wiping out standing crops. Entire families are moving with their belongings to higher ground. Kaluwala has been completely cut off, transformed into an island surrounded by water. Boats and tractors are being pressed into service to ferry people and livestock to safety. Health teams are touring affected areas to prevent theoutbreak of diseases, while power and communicationlines remain crippled in several villages. In Kapurthala, the Beas river is in full spate, making the flood conditions critical in the low lying areas of Mand area. Due to incessant rainfall in the catchment areas for several days and controlled release of water from the Pong Dam, the Beas river recorded flow of 1.61 lakh cusecs, putting further strain on the downstream areas. The water level in the affected areas, which receded on Sunday, increased abruptly later at night, forcing people to move to safer places. Water from Pathankot's Chakki, a monsoon-fed rivulet, also added to the river's flow. The Chakki is a tributary of the Beas and flows through parts of Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab before submerging into Beas near Pathankot. As per the Bhakra Beas Management Board, Pong dam is brimming at a record high of 1384.46 feet, just six feet below the dam's maximum capacity of 1,390 feet. On Monday, 38,186 cusecs of water were discharged through spillway gates and turbines. Built over Beas, the Pong Dam's catchment areas include Kangra, Mandi, and Kullu districts in Himachal Pradesh, which have witnessed heavy rainfall and cloudbursts in the past weeks. Pong's reservoir recorded inflow of 1.08 lakh cusecs from catchment areas. Several flood-prone areas in the Mand region are submerged under 5-6 feet of water. Farmers are facing catastrophic losses, as their paddy crops remain submerged for over two weeks. The villages, mainly Sangra, Mand Mubarakpur, Muhammadabad, Baupur Kadim, Baupur Jadid, Rampur Gura, Mand Bandu Jadid, Bhaini Karim Baksh and Bhaini Bahadur, located between Beas and Dhusi Bandh, remain largely affected. Appealing to the public to remain vigilant, Kapurthala deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal said, "We have been engaged in relentless rescue operations in the flood-affected areas. The SDRF teams successfully evacuated the entire family of a farmer, who were stranded in floodwaters in Baupur village following a sudden rise in the water levels. Water from Beas river also entered several villages situated along the river bank in Hoshiarpur, causing widespread disruption to life, and huge damageto household and agriculture property. Trapped inhabitants were rescued in boats and shifted to safe places. A cloud burst was reported in Talwara area, which led to flooding in Passi Karora village. Heavy rain led to a roof collapse in Mukerian sub-division's Purana Bhangala village, killing a 50-year-old woman. Mukerian SHO sub-inspector Joginder Singh said the roof of the mud house gave way following heavy rainfall in the area, trapping Kashmiro Devi, 50. She was rushed to the civil hospital, where doctors declared her dead. A car driver was rescued by locals after his vehicle was washed away in a choe near Raghowal village in Dasuya. Rain and flood waters have also damaged road infrastructure, snapping connectivity. Hectares of land with standing crops have been damaged in the last two days. On Sunday, water from Chakki and other seasonal rivulets had raised the Beas level, resulting in floods in Mehtabpur, Haler Janardhan, Kolian, Motla and adjoining villages. Water receded on Monday, but crops remained submerged. Water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal accompanied by member of Parliament Raj Kumar reviewed the situation in Mehtabpur and Kolian. Deputy commissioner Aashika Jain said food, accommodation and essential commodities were being supplied to the affected people. District Red Cross Society and NGOs had been engaged to provide relief....