CHANDIGARH: Even as Punjab struggled to come to terms with floods, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal spent more than three critical hours watching Singh is Kinng in a Jalandhar multiplex on Monday.

He may have been watching a movie in a theatre after 15 long years, as he claimed, but the timing was certainly not right. His self-treat came on a day when the army deployed as many as 10 columns for relief operations in the state, the flash flood toll climbed to 14 and crop on over 50,000 acres of land was lost.

Taking strong exception to Badals move, former chief minister Amarinder Singh said he did not deserve to rule the state even for a single day.

Meanwhile, a number of bunds on the Sutlej river in Jalandhar, Moga and Ferozepur districts have developed cracks and Army columns from Vajra Corps in Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Kapurthala have been dispatched to the affected areas.

The three main reservoirs of Punjab are almost full, with monitoring agencies preparing to release more water in case more rain follows. The rain in the past two days has inundated over 130 villages.

Irrigation secretary Suresh Kumar said: "As of now, the situation is under control, but we are keeping a close watch."

He confirmed 13 people had died in half-a-dozen house collapses in Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur districts. The Bhakra Beas Management Board has told the Punjab government to be ready for evacuations in case the situation turns critical in the coming days, with widespread rain in Himachal Pradesh pushing the Bhakra dam level above 1,669 feet on Sunday, though the danger mark is still nearly 11 feet away.
Officials said the situation was particularly grim in areas close to the Sutlej.
Source : DNA