Punjab is currently battling some of the worst floods in its history. So far 1,698 villages have been affected, and 39 people have died in these floods, according to the state government.
Heavy monsoon rains in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir meant that a huge volume of water accumulated in the upper catchment areas of the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers. This water was released from the Ranjit Sagar, Bhakra and Pong dams on these rivers and submerged the plains of Punjab, wreaking havoc in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Kapurthala and other districts of the state.
Ravi wreaks havoc
The Ranjit Sagar dam on the Ravi river had reached close to its maximum capacity of 527 metres by the end of August. On August 26-27, over 200,000 cusecs of water were released from the dam. This massive inflow reached the Madhopur barrage, where old infrastructure and lack of maintenance worsened the situation.
The gates of the barrage got jammed and many broke, due to which water submerged the villages of Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Amritsar districts. The Ravi broke the dhussi bandhs (embankments about two kilometres away from the river, which separate it from human settlements) at many places and the border areas of Punjab were flooded. The waters of Ravi also caused havoc in Pakistan, entering the Kartarpur corridor and the city of Lahore.
Cutting through this sheet of water spread over the fields of Punjab, 47-year-old farmer Gurbhej Singh took this reporter on his tractor from Ramdas town of Amritsar district to his village Jatta. Half the wheels of the tractor were submerged at the main square of Ramdas town and also on the road leading to his village. Singh said, “Almost all the villages of Amritsar’s Ajnala tehsil (subdistrict) have been flooded. There are many villages which are also cut off from other villages and towns. We have come to this state of affairs due to the water released into the Ravi from the Ranjit Sagar dam.”
Gurbhej showed the dhussi bandh ahead of the village and said the Ravi had breached it at many places. Water was still flowing through the breaches towards the nearby villages of Machhiwal, Ghonewal, Shahzada, Jatta and Pachhia. The fields of these villages had turned into a vast expanse of water, with the inhabited areas resembling islands in its midst.
Standing in his fields there, Karam Singh, a farmer from Machhiwal, said, “When the wall of water came at 4 o’clock on August 26, our neighbour Paramjeet Singh was swept away in it. We also called the administration and rescue teams. But nothing worked out. We found his dead body two days later. The entire fault lies with the administration. They came and informed us just half an hour before the water came. Tell me, how can a man save himself in half an hour?”
Karam Singh is more saddened by the death of his neighbour than the loss of his 32 acres of sugarcane crop and the cracks in his house due to the flood. Ten goats and the boundary wall of his other neighbour Mahinder Singh’s house have been washed away by the water. Mahinder and his wife said, “We had taken a loan of Rs 3 lakh from a moneylender in Jalandhar to get the boundary wall of the house built and buy 12 goats, but the water swept away everything. Only 2 goats are left.”
While narrating the ordeal, their voices began to get hoarse. Regaining their composure, they said, “Our neighbour Tarsem Singh has suffered more than us. That poor man’s entire house was washed away.”
The roof of Tarsem Singh’s entire house has collapsed; the verandah of the house and the front walls of the rooms have been washed away by the water. He and his family are staying at the house of Karam Singh. All these residents of Machhiwal village have suffered losses, but everyone is helping each other considering the other’s suffering as greater.
Dalit labourer families of Shahzada village, adjacent to Machhiwal village, are sitting with their animals on a high bridge along the main road of the village. They have borrowed trolleys from the village farmers and kept their valuables in them. Suchha Singh, who was present there, said, “The village farmers have given us these trolleys so that we can keep our belongings in them. Fifteen houses of us poor people are completely submerged. The roofs of many have also collapsed. That is why we are sitting here.”
Dalit families are suffering more damage as their houses have mud roofs and un-plastered walls. They are unable to go to their daily work because of waterlogging. On the other hand, crops like paddy and sugarcane of rural farmers have been destroyed and their houses have also developed cracks.
There are rows of tractor trolleys in the next village of Pachhia. These tractors had brought relief material from those villages of Punjab where the impact of floods is less. Many tractor trolleys had also come from villages in Haryana and Rajasthan. Farmer Inderpreet, who came from Kurukshetra in Haryana, said, “We have come from Umri village of Kurukshetra to help our brothers. When we came to know about the floods in Punjab, we made announcements in the village temple and gurdwara and started collecting essential goods from every house. Punjab is like our elder brother. We cannot see it in disaster, so the people of the entire village have sent help beyond their capacity.”
These trolleys attached to the back of the tractors had everything from flour, pulses, biscuits, bread, mosquito nets, baby diapers, sanitary pads to tarpaulins. Some tractors also brought trolleys of animal fodder.
Amidst this disaster, the spirit of Punjab, its solidarity and its love for its ‘younger brother’ Haryana is shining the brightest. In Amritsar’s Ajnala town, farmer unions and Sikh organisations are running langars (community kitchens) where thousands of people are getting food daily.
At this time, every section of society, from singers to doctors, has been united in a show of solidarity. Punjabi singer Resham Anmol has arranged boats so that people trapped in water can be rescued and helped. Singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh has adopted 10 villages of Gurdaspur and Amritsar, while Satinder Sartaj and Gippy Grewal are also continuously providing relief material.
Due to the flood in the Ravi, 324 villages in Gurdaspur district, 190 in Amritsar and 88 in Pathankot district are affected. Like the Ravi, floods in the Sutlej and Beas rivers have also affected millions of people in the state.
Cut off at Harike
Like Ranjit Sagar on the Ravi, the Bhakra dam on the Sutlej was also under heavy pressure. On August 25, its water level reached 1,668.57 feet, only 11 feet below the danger mark (1,680 feet). The dam gates were opened two feet each to release water, which increased the flow of the Sutlej to 260,000 cusecs. On August 26-27, the water released from the dam rushed downstream, inundating 77 villages in Fazilka, 102 in Ferozepur and 44 in Rupnagar.
The water level of the Pong dam on the Beas also reached 1,393 feet on August 25-26, which was more than its capacity. Due to the water released from the dam, 123 villages in Kapurthala, 125 in Hoshiarpur, 64 in Jalandhar and 70 in Tarn Taran have been affected. The flow of the Beas went beyond its normal capacity (80,000 cusecs), submerging farms and settlements.
The Sutlej and Beas meet near Harike town in Tarn Taran district and form a big confluence called Harike Pattan. This year, when the two rivers swelled and met at Harike Pattan, it affected about 30 villages there.
When this reporter reached Harike, farmer Sukhwinder Singh came to pick him up on his wooden boat. Sukhwinder’s small village of Fatehgarh Sabharan has now become an island.
Sukhwinder said, “Now, floods are happening every two years. There were floods in 2023 and 2019. Our village was submerged in 2023 and is again under water. I farm by taking land on contract. That year, my two-and-a-half acres of crop was submerged. We were given only Rs 6,800 per acre as compensation. Whereas my expenditure was Rs 30,000.”
When we reached Sukhwinder’s submerged fields in the boat, he said, “This time, I had planted vegetables. When it was time to harvest them, this water came. Everything has been ruined. The flood of 2023 left me with a debt of Rs 2 lakh. Last year, I had repaid a little debt. But this time, the debt will lead to more difficulties. I don’t know what will happen to us.”
Water all around it has cut off Sukhwinder’s village from contact. Davinder Singh Sekhon, who came to the village by boat to distribute relief material, said, “This flood has been caused by climate change and excessive monsoon, but human-made deficiencies worsened the situation. Mismanagement of dams, delay in repairing embankments, neglect of rivers and inadequate drainage systems did not allow the water to pass through. It has brought back memories of the flood of 1988. But this time, the scope of devastation is even more.”
Filling the void
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “The tractors that the government hated during the farmers’ movement are today providing help from village to village. Farmers are carrying soil in these tractors and rebuilding the washed-out embankments. In the midst of all this devastation, the government is missing, and so is its sympathy. The Prime Minister has not tweeted about the floods yet.”
The Punjab government has declared the entire state as disaster-hit. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has demanded a fund of Rs 60,000 crore and compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre from the Centre.
However, even as the state is missing in action, people have stepped in to fill the void. From the streets of Punjab’s cities to the flood-affected villages, people are forgetting their sorrows and living for each other. This is a story not just of floods but of the unwavering spirit that makes Punjab, Punjab.