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Sutlej breach: 500 youths were up for 4 days to save 50 villages from floodwaters
People from all walks of life stepped up to plug a 325-ft breach on Dhussi Bundh that wreaked havoc in 48 villages of Doaba’s Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts
People from all walks of life stepped up to plug a 325-ft breach on Dhussi Bundh that wreaked havoc in 48 villages of Doaba’s Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts.
The residents, mainly youngsters from different parts of the state, thronged the breach site at Mandala Channa village in Shahkot sub-division a day after environmentalist and Aam Aadmi Party MP Balbir Singh Seechewal appealed for helping complete the plugging work that started on July 11. The plugging of the breach was completed by July 15 morning. They were the ones to reach the spot to volunteer for the work before the drainage department came up with a strategy to stop the flow.
Youngsters worked day and night, carrying hundreds of sacks of sand, holding gardening hoes to level the land and driving tractor trolleys to the bandh. Seechewal’s followers, who are adept in plugging such breaches, had no hesitation to jump into neck-deep water to ensure that the iron rings carrying sandbags were fixed in the right place.
Time to pay back
Ranjit Singh (22), who had come from Midda village of Muktsar district, said Seechewal was first to visit flood-hit Muktsar villages last year, thus it was their moral responsibility to volunteer themselves for this work.
“It is payback time for people of this area and Seechewal as they were the ones who helped us when our houses were flooded last year. The atmosphere at Dhussi Bundh motivated us to complete the work within four days,” said Ranjit, accompanied by several youngsters from his village.
Another youngster, Manvir Singh from Moga’s Chogwan village, said they had brought three trolleys of sand-filled bags as their contribution to the cause.
“Being a farmer, I am aware of the fact that how flooded villages hit the villagers both financially and psychologically. We have now started bringing sand at Gata Mandi Kasu village, where the breach is 950ft wide,” he said.
Help at hand
People set up langars and kiosks serving refreshments for the volunteers. People from different parts of the state could be seen distributing dry fodder and medicines to farmers for survival of their livestock.
Husandeep Singh of Faridkot’s Kamiana village, said the people from his village had volunteered to provide two trolleys to provide the same in the areas, which are disconnected from the mainland.
Seechewal said the credit goes to the kar sewaks, who had come from different parts of the state in the hour of crisis. “I was present at the spot to ensure the youth did not feel demotivated. They have proved one can scale any adversity with teamwork as it is hard to plug breaches in flowing water,” Seechewal said.
He said the priority is to plug the 950ft wide breach at Gata Mandi Kasu, where people from all parts of the state are providing services voluntarily.
