LAHORE: Pakistan evacuated at least 150,000 people in areas along three rivers in its agricultural heartland to escape flooding, as neighbouring India warned it plans to release excess water from a dam, officials said on Tuesday. The two countries have been ravaged by intense rain and flooding in recent weeks.
The release of excess water in addition to heavy rains threatens to further flood parts of Pakistan's Punjab province, which serves as the country's breadbasket and accounts for a large part of its food supply.
Pakistani officials said they received a second warning from India on Monday that it intends to release water from the rapidly filling Madhopur Dam, on its side of Punjab province. The forced evacuations started ahead of the Indian warning and have continued to date, said a spokesperson at Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority.
India routinely releases water from its dams when they get too full, with the excess flowing into Pakistan. An Indian government source said they had not mentioned a specific dam but the intense rain led them to share the second warning with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. Asked if more warnings could be issued, he said it was possible. — Reuters
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