Tarn Taran villagers left to fend for themselves amidst flood devastation
GS Paul
Amritsar, August 8
Around 100 members of over 40 families living in Muthianwala village along the Indo-Pak international border belt of Tarn Taran district are living in a miserable condition as the village is inundated by 10-foot-deep water on three sides.
Boats provided by BSF
- People allege the government has not provided them medical aid, food or fodder
- To arrange items of daily use, villagers use the boats provided by the BSF
The residents have no choice but to live amid stagnant water that surrounds their houses. As the situation has been continuing for the past one month, there is a fear of vector-borne diseases breaking out in the area.
Floods have created islets on around 1,800 acres located across nearly 100-foot-wide defence drain, throwing normal life out of gear.
‘No flooding inside village’
Water is not stagnating in the main village, but in the farms. Kasur Nullah & defence drain overflowed due to the swollen Sutlej. Baldeep Kaur, Tarn Taran DC
People alleged that the government has not done anything to provide them medical aid, food or fodder for the cattle in this hour of need. They say their long-pending demand of erecting a bridge over the drain also fell on deaf ears.
They have no choice but use boats to fetch items of daily use. The boats have been provide to them by the Border Security Force (BSF). Around 25-30 children have to use boats to cross the drain for going to their schools daily.
Harpreet Singh says he himself rows the boat daily to take his daughter Simranjit Kaur (Class IX) and son Sukhpreet Singh (Class V) to the other side of the drain from where they board the school bus. “We have to start early (around 6.30 am) with our children to enable them to catch the school bus,” he said.
Another resident Lakhbir Singh said the stagnant water had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. “Water-borne diseases may break out in the area, but the administration seems to be in deep slumber,” he said.
Ninder Singh expressed gratitude to the BSF officials who offered them boats to enable them to travel to the other side of the drain.
