Chandigarh, Jul 12 (IANS):  Three major breaches in Ghaggar, which has been flowing above the danger mark, on Wednesday caused flooding in agricultural fields in Punjab's Sangrur districts.

The breaches took place at Makorad Sahib, Phulad and Mandvi villages.

Paddy crops on thousands of acres were submerged in water within hours of the river breaching its banks. The floodwater has not entered residential areas so far.

The breach, caused by rising levels of water in the river due to heavy rain, developed at several places as the teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) failed to plug them.

To make the relief operations more effective across the state, 14 teams of the NDRF and two teams of the SDRF have been working in flood-affected areas, a government statement said on Tuesday.

Among them, three teams of the NDRF have been deployed in Mohali, five in Ropar, two in Patiala, one each in Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur and SBS Nagar. Besides, three teams have been put on alert.