The forecast of heavy rainfall in Punjab and the catchment areas of the Ravi and the Beas in the upper areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh on October 6-7 has the Punjab Government on tenterhooks.

Wary, the state government has already started releasing excess water from the reservoirs of Ranjit Sagar dam into the Ravi, while continuing outflows from the Pong dam into the Beas.

With the state having suffered the worst-ever floods in recent history in August-September that devoured 59 human lives and thousands of livestock, damaged thousands of homes and destroyed crops on nearly 5 lakh acres of land, the prediction of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) of heavy rainfall in the coming days has officials in the Water Resources Department on the edge.

Rainfall to the tun

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