Jalandhar, Sept. 18 -- The increasing water flow in the Beas river continued to spell to more troubles for the people residing in the low-lying areas of Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts where the water level has been increasing since Tuesday when the river's catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh witnessed a downpour. It has left the farmers, who have already lost their paddy crop due to the recent floods, worried as they fear that the accumulation of more water will result in a delay in preparation of land for the next crop (wheat). The water level in around 14 villages situated in Mand areas of Sultanpur Lodhi had receded to 1 foot but it rose considerably on Tuesday, up to four feet in some areas. It increased further by a few inches, villagers said on Wednesday when the water flow in the river was recorded at 1.08 lakh cusecs, double than that of the last week when it had come down to 55,000 cusecs. Built over the Beas river, the Pong dam's reservoir recorded 1,395.22 feet water level on Wednesday against 1,394.71 feet seen at 3 pm on Tuesday. Last week, the dam had recorded a water level of 1,389 feet, one feet below the danger mark. At the same time, the Pong inflow dipped from 1.72 lakh cusecs to 52,313 cusecs from the catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh. The Bhakra Beas Management Board continued the controlled release of 59,845 cusecs through its spillway gates and turbines. Villagers have been spearheading the work related to the plugging of advance embankments in order to restrict accumulation of water in Kapurthala's Sultanpur Lodhi and Hoshiarpur districts. Pargat Singh, a resident of Rampur Gora village, said it was a double whammy for the farmers who have already lost paddy crop. "We have been facing a daunting task. We will have to wait for the water to recede completely before clearing the silt and sand accumulated in our fields," he said. The recent floods had affected 145 villages in Kapurthala district. As many as 5,728 people from the 14 worst-affected Mand villages were displaced. A preliminary report suggested crop loss on 43,426 acres of Kapurthala district. In Hoshiarpur, 20,564 acres were affected. Visiting the villages situated on the banks of Beas river, Hoshiarpur DC Aashika Jain said the water flow was damaging the embankments in Bahadurpur and Rajoa villages which fall in Gurdaspur district, putting villages in Tanda area at risk. "Both district administrations are jointly running relief and safety operations. The officials of the water resources department have been directed to take all necessary measures for the reinforcement of embankments," she said. As the flow of water in the Sutlej river continued to damage the dhussi bandh in Mandala Chhanna village of Jalandhar, the work on installation of a new ring embankment is being carried out on a war footing. Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal said, "It is the only way to secure the embankment, which has been facing continuous erosion."...