As water recedes, 1,000 trolleys line up to cement bundhs

In the wake of receding flood waters, bundh strengthening efforts are in full swing across several villages in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala. Over 1,000 tractor-trolleys have joined the cause, contributing sand and diesel as part of the sewa. Following months of long queues for ration and supply vehicles at the Baupur bundh, an unprecedented wave of community mobilisation - spanning Punjab and beyond - is now powering kar sewa at these sites. The collective effort aims to restore the bundhs and help farmers regain their footing.

Farmers say the huge sewa fills them with hope in taxing times.

Hundreds from the Doaba, Malwa and Majha work day and night to plug bundh breaches which flooded across over 100 villages at Kapurthala, from August 11.

At Sultanpur Lodhi, the most intense bundh restoration activity is underway at village Baupur, where a breach over a kilometer long is being addressed with the help of more than 50 volunteers and multiple JCB machines. Significant efforts are also ongoing at Chak and Ahli Kalan villages, where breaches range from 250 to 300 metres. Additionally, a 100-metre-long breach at Baupur was plugged just two days ago.

Locals say over 50 tractors and trolleys bring in truckloads of soil, sand sacks and diesel daily from Faridkot, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala and even from Haryana. A spot near Kabirpur Mandi in Sultanpur Lodhi witnesses the preparation of thousands of sacks of sand which are then picked up by volunteers for the bundhs.

Baba Sukha Singh and his army of volunteers from the Sarhali Dera are rendering service at bundhs in the Doaba, Malwa and Majha. Over 250 Sarhai Dera volunteers work in the Doaba alone.

Kuldeep Singh, resident of village Burj in Makhu, who's at Baupur to aid a flood-hit relative, says, "Our family witnesses a double whammy. My and my niece's villages are both flood affected. But we have hope in the sangat. At Baupur, over 30 to 50 trolleys with sand and diesel are reaching everyday. As many as 400 to 500 trolleys came to Ahli Kalan alone. Hundreds work to plug bundhs. Others are already bringing wheat seed. We would be left alone, but the sangat has become our strength."

Jagmohan Singh, an aide of Baba Sukha Singh, now takes turns working at bundhs in Ferozepur and Sultanpur Lodhi. He says "Our main aim now is to plug breaches so that villages are protected and farmers can prepare for next crop. At every bundh (in Kapurthala) 50-60 men are present."