Stream of sorrow: Ghaggar leaves 65 Patiala villages flooded, paddy fields ravaged

For villagers living along the banks of the Ghaggar, the rain-fed tributary has turned from a lifeline into a stream of sorrow. With the water table in some pockets dipping as low as 300 feet, the monsoon no longer brings joy—it pours grief.

Once every few years, the river swells, submerging vast tracts of farmland and breaching embankments.

This time, its fury extended to the Narwana Branch—a crucial irrigation channel of the Bhakra Canal system, originating from the Bhakra Main Line (BML) near Saundha Head in Punjab. The embankment of canal which supplies water to Haryana districts including Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sirsa, was breached near Sarala head.

As water from 25 Darra merged into the Ghaggar, hundreds of acres of paddy were inundated. The district administration has sounded an alert in 78 villages across Devigarh, Ghanaur, Sanaur, and Patran. Of these, paddy fields in 65 villages lie submerged.

In villages such as Ghungran, Kami Kalan, Chamaru, Jand Mangouli, Darwa, Untsar, Sarala Kalan and Tiwana, residents say the Ghaggar only brings misery.

Eighty-year-old Gurdev Singh stood helplessly as his fields disappeared under two feet of water.

“I have seen many floods in my lifetime. This water will also recede, but it will leave behind sand, damaged crops, and hardship. Officials will come, offer a few thousand rupees in compensation, and leave. This flood has struck at the worst time—it has destroyed our paddy, and the land would not be fit for wheat sowing till November,” he said.

At a Gurdwara in Sarala Kalan, 60-year-old Sardara Singh vented his anguish.

“Do not be deceived by these floods. In reality, water levels here drop to 300 feet, and we cannot even draw enough water from Narwana canal for irrigation. Then, every few years, the Ghaggar swells and drowns our crops and homes. It takes years for life to bounce back,” he said.

Gurinder Singh, 40, from the same village, voiced similar fears. “Our fields are under two feet of water. We are praying it does not enter our houses. Authorities asked us to vacate, so we shifted valuables upstairs. But when it rained again, panic set in. Somehow, we are coping.”

In its revised reading, the irrigation department confirmed that at Sarala Head, water has touched 17 feet—reaching the surface of a 65-year-old defunct bridge over the river.