Rs 10 lakh debt on him, Sultanpur Lodhi farmer loses home second time to floods

"Roti khan nu vi ji nahi karda. Sialan tak kiddan sama kadhange. Doojeyan de ghar kinna chir ravange (We don't feel like eating, how will we spend time until winters, how long can we stay at someone else's house)," cries Gurmeet Kaur.

The house of Gurmeet Kaur (65) and Bakhtaur Singh (68) became a place where several tragedies took place at once. The couple got just a few hours to put their entire household items onto two boats as the waters was threatening to damage their house on August 29.

With a Rs 10 lakh debt on him, Bakhtaur's house at Rampur Gaura village - home to 10 members and two dogs - was damaged for the second time during the Sultanpur Lodhi floods this year. Its walls had also collapsed in the 2023 floods. Their plight echoes the pain of numerous other homes at Sultanpur Lodhi, Dhilwan and Bholath.

Bakhtaur's paddy crop across 8.5 acres has been decimated and his family scattered - housed at five different places.

The Beas' strong currents brought down the fodder shed, fodder mounds floated away, walls cracked and the family's lone boat (kept for emergencies) broke.

Grabbing rotis, cradled in their hands, Bakhtaur and Gurmeet emptied months of stored wheat, rice and grains into sacks as tears rolled down Gurmeet's eyes. In a few hours, the couple loaded their belongings onto two little boats, leaving behind their iron drum, sewing machine, grandchildren's computer.

Aided by do-gooders Baupur resident Paramjit Singh and Saruwal resident Jathedar Babar Singh, the family packed grain sacks, a small refrigerator, inverter, batteries and sacks of cloth and left the home forever.

Gurmeet wept uncontrollably with son Pargat as they bid goodbye to the house.

Gurmeet said, "We didn't get a single rupee in girdawari in 2023 either and the crop is ruined again now. Debts mount. My brother-in-law's house has also fallen this year. One of my daughter-in-laws is pregnant and a son stays at Beri Sahib Gurdwara. Another daughter-in-law and son are at Kuduwal, children are elsewhere. Our cattle are at Sheikh Manga village."

Bakhtaur Singh, says, "Everything we had is lost. The house, the crops. I already had an over Rs 10 lakh debt on me. Our house is gone."