By Ebi Kesiena
Families forced from their homes by weeks of monsoon flooding have begun returning as waters recede across much of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, officials confirmed on Monday. The floods, triggered by overflowing rivers, displaced more than 2.5 million people and claimed around 100 lives.
Images shared on social media show once-fertile fields now buried under layers of sand and silt. Returning villagers said they face the challenge of both rebuilding their homes and replanting crops destroyed by the deluge.
Water levels are falling at Panjnad, the point where the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers converge before joining the Indus according to Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the provincial authority.
Relief and rescue efforts are still under way in several districts, officials added.
Among those affected is 46-year-old Nargis Bibi from Kasur district, who recounted how the Sutlej river engulfed her home, forcing her to flee with her husband, daughter and two sons.
“We waded through 5 to 6 feet of water to reach a safe place, but the flood came so suddenly that we couldn’t take even a needle with us,” she said. “When we returned, everything was destroyed.”
Muhammad Sajjad, a 43-year-old farmer from an orchard-owning family, said floodwaters from the Chenab river had receded by about 6 feet near Multan, allowing his family to return home.
More than 4,500 villages in Punjab were inundated during weeks of torrential rains and repeated water releases from overflowing dams in neighboring India, according to the Punjab Disaster Management Authority.
The flow of water in the Ravi and Chenab rivers has returned to normal and levels on the Sutlej river is falling, the agency said.
India shared at least six flood alerts with Pakistan in recent weeks and the water releases swelled rivers in Punjab, causing significant damage, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority.
Authorities have urged returning families to comply with instructions from local administrators in order to access government support or remain in camps if their villages are still deemed unsafe.
Pakistani officials argued that the flooding would have been less devastating had India released water from its dams in a more gradual manner.
The floodwaters are now moving south towards Sindh province, which endured the worst of Pakistan’s 2022 disaster when more than 1,700 people were killed nationwide.
Punjab mounted one of its largest rescue and relief missions, supported by the military, Kathia noted.
He added that stranded families in the remote areas of Liaquatpur and Jalalpur Pirwala are still being provided with assistance, while many displaced people have already returned to their homes in Narowal, Okara, Kasur, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar.
More than 950 people have died nationwide in flooding since late June.
