Punjab deluged, relief rushed, but lessons unlearnt

PUNJAB is reeling under the fury of nature, with torrential rain — the heaviest in more than a decade — swelling rivers and breaching bundhs. The Ravi, Beas and Sutlej are in spate while dam levels have touched the danger mark. On Tuesday, nearly 1.10 lakh cusecs of water was released from the Ranjit Sagar Dam, compounding the flood threat in downstream areas and leaving Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur on high alert. The most alarming situation unfolded in Hoshiarpur, where an advance bundh gave way, flooding 35 villages and damaging standing paddy crops over 36,000 acres. Farmers, already grappling with input cost pressures, now stare at heavy losses. For many, this means a complete wipeout of the kharif season.