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Submerged fields under swollen Beas, Sutlej keep Punjab farmers on the edge
Low-lying areas adjoining the Beas river in Sultanpur Lodhi of Kapurthala district and the Tanda region in Hoshiarpur district continue to remain inundated
There is no respite for villagers living by the Beas and Sutlej rivers, which are in spate following heavy rains in catchment areas, with farmers in Kapurthala, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur districts fearing widespread crop loss.
Low-lying areas adjoining the Beas river in Sultanpur Lodhi of Kapurthala district and the Tanda region in Hoshiarpur district continue to remain inundated.
In the Khadoor Sahib area of Tarn Taran, farmers claimed that their crops, paddy and fodder were submerged because of a swollen Beas.
Punjab transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar visited flood-affected villages in Patti in Tarn Taran to take stock of the situation.
According to official sources, more water was released from the Pong Dam in Talwara in Hoshiarpur following heavy rain in the river’s upper catchment areas.
Around 57,000 cusecs of water have been discharged into the Beas through spillway gates and the dam’s powerhouse tunnels.
The inflow into the dam stands at 76,700 cusecs. The water level in the Pong reservoir reached 1,378.59 feet, against the maximum capacity of 1,390 feet.
Mukerian sub-divisional officer (Drainage and Mining) Sukhpreet Singh said the Beas was flowing at 1,03,200 cusecs on Saturday.
Farmers allege inaction by admn
The situation was also grim in Ferozepur district, where villagers staying near the Sutlej river said their crops got damaged because they were underwater for the past many days.
Natives of Kalu Wala village blamed the district administration for failing to give any compensation for the crop loss.
“The ‘girdwaris’ (loss assessment) of the land on which we have been tilling for several years has not been transferred to our name, due to which every year we lose our crops and don’t get any compensation,” said farmer Gurmej Singh.
“My four-acre field in Kalu Wala village has been underwater for the past 10 days. My paddy crop has been destroyed and I am under immense stress. Every day I visit my fields hoping the water level has gone down, but today the entire crop was submerged,” he rued.
Parkash Singh of Tendi Wala village alleged that the administration had done nothing to strengthen the embankments to prevent flooding from the river.
He said he and many more farmers never received any compensation for their crop loss in 2023.
“In situations like this, leaders from all parties come to our villages only to get their photographs clicked, but in reality, they do nothing. We have decided we will not allow any political leader to enter our village until the land is transferred in our names,” said Gurmit Singh, another farmer from Tendi Wala village.
Ferozepur deputy commissioner Deep Shikha Sharma, who visited the border villages and Harike headworks, said the situation was under control.
“The administration is keeping a hawk’s eye. The work on strengthening the embankments is going on a war footing. There is a rise in Sutlej water, but the situation is under control,” she added.
Ferozepur City AAP MLA Ranbir Singh Bhullar on Saturday visited Tendi Wala, Jallo Ke, Gatti Rajo Ke and Khunder Gatti villages, all of which are situated along the Sutlej.
Bhullar instructed the officials to strengthen the banks of the river to prevent more flooding.
Over 20 villages impacted in Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi
In Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi, more than 20 villages near the Beas were impacted by a rise in the water level, which later receded to 1.08 lakh cusec from 1.25 lakh cusec, drainage department official Khushwinder Singh said.
The district administration pressed into service more than 10 boats, and two motorboats belonging to Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal to provide relief material to the flood-affected farmers.
The administration has evacuated more than 500 villagers from Baupur in Mand areas, where several hundred acres of paddy crop are submerged in 22 villages.
The worst-affected villages are Baupur, Baupur Kadim, Jadid and Sangra.
Kapurthala deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal said a relief centre had been set up in Lakh Varhian Government School in the Mand area.
In Kapurthala’s Bholath, the administration set up medical camps at Gurdwara Sahib in Talwandi Kuka. Green fodder and silage were distributed for animals, and veterinary doctors had been deployed for the care of livestock, officials said.
