After floods, Punjab farmers struggle  to reclaim silt-choked fields

With massive deposits of silt and sand spread across farmlands near multiple breach sites along the Ravi, from Ramdas to Ajnala, hundreds of tractors are busy clearing fields to make them cultivable again.

Most farmers, lacking adequate machinery to remove the heavy silt, are depending on community service and collective effort. “We are helping each other with tractors and machines. The damage is too vast for individual farmers to handle,” said Harjit Singh, a farmer, at Gurchak village.

Some cultivators have managed to earn a small income by selling the sand deposited in their fields. They are charging between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 per large trolley. “We call it our ‘royalty’. There is too much sand for us to use, so anyone who wants it, can take it for Rs 3,000 per trolley,” said Gurbir Singh of Guru Chak.

Middlemen engaged in lifting sand from fields said the business was only marginally profitable. “After paying Rs 3,000 to the farmer, another Rs 3,000 goes on labour. Expenses on diesel and vehicle rent are extra. Each trolley costs Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000, and if we get Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000, it’s a fair deal,” said Jagtar Singh, who operates in the Dharamkot village area.

However, much of the deposited material is a mixture of silt and sand, making it unsuitable for construction. For most farmers, the money earned barely covers the cost of levelling and cleaning the fields. At Guru Chak, two JCB machines have been deployed for the past three days to fill a 70-foot-deep crater formed by the gushing floodwater. “It will take at least two more days. The money earned from selling sand is just enough to buy diesel,” said Gurchet Singh, pointing to the tractors working continuously near the riverbank.