The Punjab government has approved financial assistance of Rs20,000 per acre to compensate farmers for crop losses, as the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) warned of potential flooding due to heavy rains and the expected release of over 150,000 cusecs of water from India into the Chenab, Sutlej, and Ravi rivers within the next day or two.
Chairing a meeting in Multan to assess the condition of cotton, rice, sugarcane, and other standing crops, Punjab Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said around 2,000 teams were conducting surveys to evaluate flood-related damages. He added that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had already approved the financial aid for affected farmers.
Sahoo noted that a comprehensive action plan had been prepared to meet the wheat sowing target, and highlighted progress in cotton production. According to Crop Reporting Service statistics, 2.65 million bales of seed cotton (phutti) have been harvested this year, compared with 1.846 million bales during the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an alert for rainfall in Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan over the next 12 to 24 hours, particularly in the upper catchment areas of the Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers.
PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia told a press briefing that the country is preparing for a weather shift, with rain expected over the coming days, which may worsen flooding in Punjab. Light to heavy showers are forecast across districts from Rawalpindi to Lahore over the weekend, followed by rain in southern Punjab on Monday. In upper Punjab, rainfall could reach up to 100mm.
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