GUJAR KHAN, Aug 15: Mangla dam and Jhelum river have overflowed their banks and the water has inundated at least 12 localities of tehsil Kallar Syedan, union council Mianda, cutting off 500 houses of these villages from rest of the world.

The villages located along the banks of Mangla dam and Jhelum River are at risk as water in the dam has overflowed and entered into the houses.

There is little chance that the water would recede unless, the spillways of the dam are opened.

At the moment, the water level is still rising due to high flow from Jhelum River.

The villages that have been flooded include Banahal, Qasimabad, Dhoke Mistrian, Tandhela, Khandor, Basti Syedan, Bnahal Patan, Havelian, Galla Rajgan, Sehri and Dam Tup.

The affected people told Dawn that they had been moving from pillar to post to get the area properly surveyed by the authorities concerned but nobody paid heed to them.

According to the villagers, the authorities of the district and tehsil administrations were also approached but to no avail.

‘Resultantly our localities have changed into islands and we have no money to hire boats to shift women and children and cattle to safer locations.

“Mianda is the constituency of PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Raja Mohammad Ali (son of Raja Zafarul Haq) MPA; and none of them has paid attention to their plights,” said Anwar Jan, an elderly women, who said she had build her house by working as a servant in the mosques of the area.

According to the residents, there were about 500 houses in these 12 localities where over 3,000 residents were at the risk of drowning if remedial measures were not taken by the district administration which at the moment was looking the other way round.

They have urged Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif to take notice of the apathy of the administration and rescue them.