Farmers fear flooding of land due to upcoming dhusi bandh in Tarn Taran village

Say 2,000 acres will become vulnerable to Beas river’s gushing waters if the embankment is allowed to be constructed

A forthcoming 1,000-foot-long dhusi bandh (embankment) along the Beas river at Dhunda village of Tarn Taran district has become a bone of contention between the administration and local farmers who are claiming that the work will leave thousands of acres of agriculture land prone to flooding.

Dhunda residents have now started an indefinite protest at the bandh site.

The government has already approved ₹1 crore for the purpose but the farmers say the embankment will protect only 150 acres of land that belongs to the village sarpanch, Sarwan Singh, who is affiliated to the state’s ruling Congress.

They say if the dhusi bandh is constructed, nearly 2,000 acres of land will become vulnerable to the river’s gushing waters. The administration, on the other hand, claims that in the absence of embankment, the river will inundate nearly 3,000 acre land of other villages this monsoon season.

The Dhunda residents have now started an indefinite protest at the bandh site with nearly 100-200 farmers, including women, taking part in it on a daily basis. They say they would not allow the administration to go ahead with the construction work at any cost.

Baldev Singh, who owns 8 acres of land along the riverbed, said, “We have been asking for a dhusi bandh from Dhunda to Munda Pind village on both sides of the river. The demand was accepted, but the government is not paying attention to it. Now, it is being done to save the land of sarpanch Sarwan Singh, who is a close associate of MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki.”

Nirvail Singh, another farmer who owns 26 acres of land, said, “If the government is really serious about our problem, the river should be given a canal-like shape by paving both its sides. And the farmers whose land will fall in the riverbed should be compensated.”

Tarn Taran sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Rajneesh Arora said, “The project is to strengthen the already existing bandh. If it is not paved, the river water will cause damage to thisands of acres of farmland in the coming monsoon season. We will not allow the farmers to stop the construction work.”

He added, “The sarpanch has nothing to do with the project. The farmers are deliberately giving it a political colour.”