LAHORE, May 17 (ABC): The Punjab Irrigation Department has intensified preparations for the upcoming monsoon season by starting pre-flood inspections across the province. The initiative covers spurs, embankments, canal headworks, and other flood protection structures. Authorities aim to reduce flood risks and strengthen preparedness before heavy rains arrive.
Designated inspection teams are carrying out the assessments with support from allied departments and law enforcement agencies. The teams are checking the condition of existing structures and identifying weak points that need urgent repairs.
“The structures, if found damaged or weak, are being repaired and strengthened immediately in the light of the inspection teams’ recommendations,” said Dr. Ghulam Zakir Hassan Sial, Director of the Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Punjab, while talking to Wealth Pakistan.
Ongoing repair and strengthening efforts
Dr. Sial said authorities continue to conduct structural audits of spurs and embankments along Punjab’s rivers. He said the department is giving priority to early repairs because quick action can reduce flood risks during the upcoming monsoon season, which usually begins in mid-June.
He said authorities want to avoid a repeat of the severe flood situation witnessed in 2025. According to him, stronger protective structures can help reduce damage and improve the province’s ability to handle high water flows.
Punjab faced severe flooding during August and September last year after heavy monsoon rains and upstream water releases from India caused the Ravi, Chenab, and Sutlej rivers to overflow.
The floods affected more than 3.9 million people across Punjab. Thousands of villages in 28 districts came under water. The disaster forced large-scale evacuations and disrupted daily life. The floods also claimed 48 lives and became one of the province’s worst flooding events in decades.
Innovative flood management measures
Dr. Sial said the IRI introduced innovative flood management measures during the 2025 floods. He said the institute successfully diverted around 12,000 acre-feet of floodwater for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) through the Old Mailsi Canal at Islam Headworks on the Sutlej River.
He said the initiative converted a crisis into an opportunity for groundwater replenishment. Authorities also constructed 144 recharge wells inside the canal bed. These wells support long-term water sustainability and help improve underground water reserves.
Lahore flood protection work gains pace
Meanwhile, the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) has accelerated work on flood protection infrastructure to protect Lahore’s housing societies from possible flooding by the River Ravi.
“The 46-kilometer-long embankments are being constructed on both banks of the Ravi to protect Lahorites from floods,” RUDA spokesperson Sher Afzal Butt told Wealth Pakistan.
He said the authority is constructing protection structures from Ravi Syphon to Jhok Forests. Under the project, authorities will expand the riverbed to at least one kilometer in width. The wider river channel will help manage water flow during peak flood conditions.
Last year, Lahore witnessed its first major flooding from the Ravi River in nearly four decades. Heavy monsoon rains and significant upstream water releases caused the situation and raised concerns about urban flood risks.
Government preparing relief and rescue plans
The Punjab government has also started work on an integrated flood management plan for the upcoming monsoon season. The plan aims to combine recommendations and technical input from different departments to improve coordination and strengthen preparedness.
“Preparations for relief and rescue operations are also underway to cope with any flooding during the upcoming monsoon season,” a spokesperson for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab told Wealth Pakistan.
