Month on, fields at Muktsar village still submerged

Almost a month on, the fields at Udekaran village on the Muktsar-Kotkapura road here are still flooded with rainwater. As a result, the paddy crop has been damaged, forcing some farmers to re-transplant it. The forecast of fresh rain in the coming days is also adding to worries of farmers, who claimed that the district administration had made no arrangements to drain out the water and save their crops.

A local farmer, Jagmeet Singh Nanakpura, said nearly 250 acres in the village had submerged in water.

“After seepage and evaporation, about 100 acres are still submerged. Officials have made no arrangements to drain out the water, apart from a few visits. I have suffered huge losses due to waterlogging and have even re-sown the paddy, but the forecast of a fresh spell of rain is adding to our worries,” he added.

Sarpanch Sukhcharan Singh blamed the village’s topography and non-operational drainage system in nearby Thandewala village.

“We had asked for two motors to pump out the water, but got no positive response,” he said. Suggesting a solution, the sarpanch said, “There is a drain 2.5-km away. If a pipeline is laid, then fields can be saved from waterlogging in future.”

Vishal Kumar, Executive Engineer of the Drainage Wing in the Water Resources Department, said, “We had requested the district administration to drain out the rainwater using water-lifting pumps. The waterlogging is being witnessed in low-lying areas. There is no drain in the village, but we are trying to work out a permanent solution. Further, our subsurface drainage scheme at Thandewala village is currently functional.”

Release of excess dam water inundates fields

Hoshiarpur: Due to the release of excess water from Pong Dam, many low-lying areas near Abdullahpur village in Tanda have been submerged.

Water reached up to 4 feet in the Mand area, due to which about 35-40 families living there left for safer places with their essential belongings in tractor-trailers.

Meanwhile, the administration has built a shelter in Government Elementary School in Ibrahimpur village, where a few people have reached so far. Many affected villagers are staying at the gurdwara in Miani village, while most people have gone to their relatives in Miani village and nearby areas. OC