Only 200 people left, Ferozepur village faces existential crisis

Kaluwala village, situated on the India-Pakistan border here, is facing an existential crisis after being ravaged by the swollen Sutlej.

Surrounded by the river on three sides and the hostile Pakistan on the fourth, the village is about 10 km from the district headquarters.

Whenever the border tension ran high between the two countries, the authorities were quick to get the village vacated, which prompted migration from there.

Makhan Singh, a 65-year-old resident of the village, says repeated floods made things worse for them.

Now, only 200 residents are left in the village. They are also staring at bleak future as many houses collapsed in the state’s worst floods in decades this time.

“Even during the 1988 floods, we didn’t see such devastation,” said Makhan Singh, who was forced to put up on the roof of a primary school, along with 14 other villagers, for weeks as floodwaters submerged the entire village.

“This time, we had no drinking water and fodder for cattle. Two buffaloes drowned while we tried to take them across the Sutlej,” he said with moist eyes.

He said receding floodwater left behind a thick layer of sand, making their fields uncultivable for now.

Raj Singh (35) said they had shifted women and children to safer locations. They stayed back to take care of the cattle and guard the homes. “Watching our village go under water sent chills down our spine,” he said.

Villagers said several cattle died — either due to drowning or snakebite.

Jarnail Singh (40) said after the 2023 floods, they had to work hard to reclaim their land after silt covered their fields. “It’s like one step forward and ten steps backwards,” he added.

Sarpanch Bohar Singh said apart from the school building, nothing significant had been left in the village now. “Every time the Sutlej overruns this area, our contact with the outside world is cut off,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma said the district administration would take up the matter with the BSF and other authorities to provide a permanent approach road to the village rather than a temporary pontoon bridge.

The Deputy Commissioner said all kind of efforts would be made to address the concerns of the villagers.