Man brings newlywed wife home by boat in Punjab amid massive floods

KAMALIA: In a striking scene from flood-ravaged Punjab, a young man from Kamalia city brought his newlywed bride home by boat after floodwaters submerged vast swathes of the region.

Footage circulating on social media showed the couple wearing life jackets as rescue officials ferried them across submerged villages.

The wedding procession traveled by boat from Kalira Adda to Khan Da Chak, where the bride was formally sent off before being taken to her new home.

The unusual journey underscores the worsening crisis in Punjab, where the swollen Sutlej River has inundated dozens of villages and farmlands.

Authorities said the situation deteriorated further after India released additional water into the Sutlej, prompting flood alerts for Harike Lower and Ferozepur Lower.

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At Ganda Singh Wala, entire villages remain underwater, with stagnant pools raising fears of disease outbreaks.

In Vehari, Burewala, and Mailsi, more than 90 villages have been submerged, displacing around 80,000 residents and destroying nearly 60 acres of crops.

The crisis is equally dire in Bahawalpur’s Khairpur Tamiwali Tehsil, where thousands of acres of farmland are underwater, while in Arifwala, at least 23 villages and 26,000 acres of crops have been wiped out.