Flood-hit North India needs Centre’s hand

NORTH India is drowning — literally — yet the Centre’s response risks sounding like a routine file-pushing exercise. Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir are in the grip of devastating floods that have destroyed crops, flattened homes and snapped vital infrastructure. Entire communities are marooned, livelihoods washed away. At a time when citizens expect empathy and decisive action, what they cannot afford is bureaucratic lethargy and token announcements. Punjab, still staggering under farm distress, has seen vast stretches of fertile land ruined by floodwaters. Haryana’s villages are cut off, cattle swept away, and roads rendered impassable. Declared disaster-hit, Himachal Pradesh, already battered last year, is once again grappling with landslides, collapsed bridges and stranded tourists. Its fragile hill economy is hanging by a thread. In J&K, flooding has displaced thousands, aggravating its fragile social and economic fabric.