Face2News/Chandigarh,

Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister S. Hardeep Singh Mundian today informed that the number of active relief camps has dropped from 41 to 38 within 24 hours, while the inmates declined sharply from 1945 to 1176. He described this fall of 769 inmates as a positive sign that rehabilitation is progressing smoothly and families are steadily their returning home. 

The Cabinet Minister informed that a total of 23,340 persons have been evacuated till date as the state continues to move back towards normalcy. He added that the number of affected villages has marginally increased from 2483 to 2484, while the population affected now stands at 3,89,279. 

He pointed out that the crop area affected has risen from 1,98,525 hectares to 1,99,678 hectares, mainly due to fresh reporting from Fazilka district where over 1,153 more hectares of farmland have been impacted. 

S. Mundian further informed that one more death was reported in Barnala district, taking the overall death toll in the state to 57.