Chandigarh: Heavy rains have lashed Punjab over the past few days, causing floods in several parts of the state. Thousands of acres of agricultural land are damaged. while several houses were washed away in floods.

On Monday, Ludhiana recorded the highest rainfall of 216.70 mm. According to the Met department here, several places in Punjab and Haryana received rain during the 24-hour period ending 8:30 am Monday.

Among other places in Punjab which received rain included Amritsar (24.1 mm), Patiala (80.4 mm), Pathankot (3.6 mm), Bathinda (3 mm), Faridkot (10.2 mm), Gurdaspur (2.7 mm), SBS Nagar (112.7 mm), Mohali (64 mm), Mansa (42 mm) and Rupnagar (82.5 mm).

– Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers and regional rivulets have swollen due to incessant rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

– Over 1,000 villages have been affected across several districts of the state.

– Villages worst-affected by the floods were in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur, and Amritsar districts.

– The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF), and the Border Security Force (BSF) are assisting local administration and the Punjab Police in rescue and relief operations.

– Over 11,000 people have been rescued so far from nine flood-hit districts, including Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, and Amritsar, reported Akashvani, citing sources

– The Punjab government on Monday announced the closure of all colleges, universities, and polytechnic institutes till September 3.

“Due to continuous heavy rainfall across Punjab since last night, all colleges, universities, and polytechnic institutes will also remain closed till 3rd September 2025 with immediate effect. The responsibility for the well-being of students residing in hostels lies with the respective administrations. Everyone is requested to strictly follow the guidelines issued by local authorities,” Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said in his X post.

– The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall over several districts on Monday.

– According to the IMD’s Nowcast, heavy rainfall is very likely in several districts of Punjab, including Patiala, Anandpur Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, and Ludhiana.

– Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday spoke to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and took stock of the flood situation.

– During the telephonic conversations, the governor and the chief minister briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation and the steps taken by the administration for the rescue and relief of the people affected. He assured them of all possible help to deal with the flood, officials said.

– A rain alert has also been issued for several districts of Haryana, including Ambala and Panchkula.

Mumbai Maloni Police has claimed to have arrested five accused including ganja worth Rs 72 lakhs and a country-made pistol and live cartridges. In Maloni, the police had arrested Ashiq Hussain Khan with 1 kg 60 grams of ganja. He said that he buys this drug from Nashik. After that, Santosh More of Nashik was arrested. After that, a total of four accused were arrested in this case and a case was registered against them under the NDPS Act. A car was searched in Maloni Madh in which a country-made pistol and ganja were recovered. This operation was carried out by DCP Sandeep Jadhav on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti. The police is investigating the matter further.

Normal civic system remained disrupted for the second day due to the hunger strike of Mumbai Maratha Morcha and Manoj Jaranje. Travelling towards South Mumbai was difficult as traffic on Fort and other roads was affected due to Maratha Morcha protesters. There is a crowd of protesters from the Maratha community at CST railway stations. In such a situation, it is common news that food and water have been completely stopped for Maratha protesters in Mumbai and food stalls and hotels have been closed here, but this news is false and baseless as all the stalls and hotels on Mumbai STS are open and food is available for the protesters. On the other hand, BMC has claimed to have made arrangements for cleanliness and other facilities and clean drinking water for the protesters. Mud has been cleaned during the rains, not only this, a temporary toilet van has also been deployed. Mumbai Police and additional forces are also deployed at Azad Maidan.

The BJP has called the news on its social media account baseless that shops and hotels have been closed due to Maratha Morcha. Meanwhile, photos and videos have also been released from the official handle of BJP. Along with this, BMC has also released videos and pictures of the cleaning campaign and said that it has provided facilities to the Maratha protesters.

All the food stalls around Mumbai CST are open. The news of the stalls being closed is false and baseless. People of the Maratha community are protesting by taking tea and snacks from these stalls. To prove how anti-Maratha the government is, those demanding reservation and those who have not given reservation for 50 years are running their hidden agenda. People are facing problems even on the second day of the protest in Mumbai. Roads in many areas of Mumbai are filled with the Maratha community. In such a situation, there is a traffic jam in Mumbai and the Morcha has also affected the local trains, which are called the lifeline of Mumbai city. Train services are affected and trains on central lines are running late by 10 to 15 minutes. Maratha Morcha protesters have also camped at CST railway station. In such a situation, there is a lot of crowd at CST and police force has also been deployed to control it. Along with this, today also the protesters tried to sit on some roads, which were later removed so that the road and traffic system is not affected. Today Home Minister Amit Shah has also visited the palace of Lalbagh Raja. Along with this, Ganpati immersion Ganesh Utsav and Maratha Morcha are challenges for the police. The police is handling the situation well and in such a situation the police has tightened security in Mumbai. Amit Shah has visited Lalbagh Raja amidst tight security of Mumbai Police. During this, BJP leader and minister Advocate Ashish Shelar was also present. Amit Shah along with his wife visited Lalbagh Raja and took blessings.