Farmers watch helplessly as flooded Ravi swallows 50 acres along border

Already struggling with the challenge of cultivating their fields across the barbed fence along the India-Pakistan border, farmers in Amritsar’s Kakkar and Rania villages have now suffered another blow as the swollen Ravi has swallowed around 50 acres of their fertile farmland.

Sukhrajbir Pal Singh Gill of Kakkar said the raging water wreaked havoc even as the villagers fought for survival. “The Ravi changed its course and entered our fields. It washed away fertile tracts before flowing into Pakistan. All we could do was watch helplessly as our ancestral land disappeared,” he said.

For the villagers, the loss is not just economic but emotional. “Most families here solely depend on farming. Our livelihood has been crippled. We already needed security clearance to access our fields. Now, the river has taken away the land we had worked on for generations,” lamented Sukhrajbir. He and his three brothers owned around 50 acres, of which 15 acres have been eroded.

Kulbir Singh Gill, who owns six acres, accused both state and central governments of neglecting the plight of those owning land along the border. “We were already living on the edge. The erosion has compounded our miseries,” he said. Jasbir Singh said their damage was continuing as the floodwaters had not receded fully. “The erosion is ongoing. Our land continues to vanish before our eyes,” he said.

Harjit Singh of Rania village said the land was not only a source of income for them, but their identity. “Watching it disappear is heart-breaking. We have suffered the most as our fields fall between the Ravi and Sakki Nullah (a seasonal stream),” he said.

A few villagers blamed the unregulated release of water from dams upstream for their troubles.

While the district administration has been assessing the damage, villagers fear the compensation may not be adequate to cover long-term losses.

Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said compensation would be provided as per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) regulations. “Farmers will get Rs 47,000 per hectare for loss of land, Rs 20,000 per acre for crop loss and additional input subsidy,” she said.

Calling the relief “too less”, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha leader Ratan Singh Randhawa said the government must provide Rs 45 lakh per acre to those whose land had been washed away.