At this point, all have seen the iconic images of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur submerged in flood waters. This is the story of how we obtained those photos and what I saw along the way.
Kartarpur’s first images appeared in social and conventional media on Wednesday. These were filmed by rescue officials during efforts to evacuate homes in the facilities: the families of the caregivers of the sanctuary and others.
All were evacuated in boat, since the water level within the Kartarpur complex was too high to venture in any other way.
We arrived in Nanowal after dusk on Thursday, and despite the requests of our writing room, we could not immediately secure any usable photograph.
Although Narowal City was saved, his suburbs and the peoples and Tehsils on their outskirts took the worst part of the waters that left the Ravi and the half dozen rainwater drains (Nullahs) that flow to the district from India. These include Nullah Dek, Basanter, Baen and Auj.
Abid Mehmood, our correspondent in the area, described his flow as follows: “Auj and Baen enter the Ravi in Shakargarh Tehsil before Kartarpur, while Basanter enters the river after Kartarpur. But this time, the force of the flood water in the Ravi receded the water in these drains. This caused more damage.”
At this point, he says, the river has the capacity of around 150,000 Cusecs, but overflowed its banks upon receiving around 250,000 Cusecs.
Arriving at Gurdwara was not an easy task. Soaked from the chest down, I held my camera up on my head while hung from a tractor that was transporting the locals to and from the villages flooded around Kartarpur.
The cart was filled to the edge, but I managed to find a support point and hung by my dear life. Along the way, the locals trying to escape from the waters would call me: “Don’t leave, you will fall” or “You will see” are the most printable choruses that shouted me while we went through the Gurdwara.
Along the way, the tractor tractor collected more and more abandoned people. Although the authorities had mandatory evacuation, there were still some holdouts that refused to leave their homes.
It was only after their houses immersed themselves, these people realized their mistake; I heard many shouts of “we are convicted” and “everything has gone” from the road edges.
In the morning, when we finally arrived at the Kartarpur complex, the only way to approach was by boat. We left our vehicle about 1.5 km on the Shakargarh road and boarded a rescue boat, which took us to Gurdwara.
At this time, the structure had been evacuated; Even security verification publications were submerged and empty. The main drabar on the ground floor was completely flooded, with only the upper floor not touched by the waters of the flood.
On our way back, daylight offered an alerting perspective. There was only water everywhere as I could see, the submerous fields and the villages equally.
But there was still hope. Hiace Vans was now transporting stranded people to and from their belongings. These were being operated by the beneficial organization of the singer Abrarul Haq, the Sahara Trust, who also directs a hospital in the district.
According to our correspondent, Abid, the waters of the floods had not affected Narowal City so much; It was the suburbs and the villages on the outskirts that had the worst part of the damage. According to an estimate, at least 145 villages were affected and their destroyed crops.
Abid says that water is now slowly retreating rural Tehsils, but has already caused significant damage to agriculture, especially rice and fodder crops, as well as infrastructure, including roads. “Narowal-Shakargarh Road was closed while Narowal-Zafarwal Road was submerged in the flood water causing the trips to be impossible.”
In their words, the locals know that if there is more rains in the areas of recruitment of Ravi (in Kashmir controlled by India), it could be dangerous for Narowal. But if the downpour is not torrential, things would be fine.
Saba Chaudhry, an independent journalist based in Nanowal, said Sunrise He was in the town of Noorpur near Shakargarh when Nullah Dek’s flood hit the area. His town remained safe since it was located on a higher terrain, but there was flood water everywhere.
“The main road in the plot of Manzoorpura was completely submerged in two or three feet deep waters.”
Noorpur and its surrounding peoples disconnect from the district headquarters, making it impossible to travel inside and outside.
On Friday, three days after Kartarpur and his people were submerged, he visited the Gurdwara.
“The authorities had managed to drain the complex water, but the flood water still surrounds the building,” he says, and adds that at least the roads have now reopened.
Posted in Dawn, August 30, 2025
