How soldiers, villagers braved 1988 floods

THE current deluge in Punjab has brought back memories of the September 1988 floods in the state. As a Company Commander, I was deployed along with my troops in Ajnala sector near the International Border (IB).

A significant topographical feature of the area was the anti-flood bundh known as Dhussi, in proximity to the Ravi river which ran along the IB with Pakistan. Fertile agricultural lands lay ahead and behind this bundh. In the last week of September, we heard the news that the Bhakra dam reservoir’s level was nearing the danger mark and it could impact areas contiguous to Beas and Sutlej rivers. Within two days, warnings were sounded about impending water flow that would submerge large areas in the vicinity of the Ravi as well. In a matter of hours, flooding started, with continuous rain making it worse.

While we hurried to the top of the bundh to seek refuge and encamped over a small stretch, we could see a sea of humanity from adjacent villages headed our way. Men, women and children were carrying their meagre possessions as they streamed on towards the bundh, which was about 10 metres high and apparently safe from inundation. We helped villagers, especially the old, reach there safely with food, cooked or uncooked. By nightfall, the area around the bundh looked like a huge sheet of water. The bundh itself was crawling with people in distress.

Over the next 24 hours, the water level kept rising as we watched helplessly from our precarious perch. Finally, when the water was barely one foot below the bundh, it stopped rising.

It was remarkable that after the initial scramble for safety, the people on this linear island of the bundh had stoically settled down and were making do with whatever they had been able to salvage. I made frequent trips along the bundh in either direction to share food and provide help. I felt a sense of hope and calmness amid this perilous situation.

An old woman seemed more concerned about my ‘boys’ and their safety when I enquired about her wellbeing. In those days of shared misery, they were happy that Army personnel were standing by them. Seeing my rank epaulets, a group of old men remarked cheerfully, “Fauj de afsar vi saade naal hi han” (even Army officers are with us).

A week or so later, the waters receded and one could venture to the villages, which had suffered extensive damage, with many houses flattened and stench of dead cattle all around. Some prominent villagers approached me with the request that the distribution of relief material and any other form of government help should be handled solely by the Army. Such was their faith in us!

It took months for a semblance of normalcy to return to this disaster-hit area of Majha. I felt deep admiration for rural Punjab’s hardy folks, who could bear any calamity with stoic resilience and bounce back with their famed perseverance.