Panic grips Punjab border villages as Sutlej swells again after fresh dam releases

Fear gripped the border villages situated along the Sutlej again following a rise in the water level on Tuesday, in fields that were already inundated.

The affected villages included Navi Gatti Rajoke, Tendiwala, Kaluwala, Nihala Kilcha, Nihala Lavera, Dhira Ghara and Bandala, which witnessed the return of floodwaters from the Sutlej river. Even the current of water flow in the Sutlej has increased to an extent that the riverbanks have begun to erode, leaving residents "anxious" and apprehensive about the river changing its course towards the villages.

As per information, the downstream discharge from Harike Headworks stood at 92,000 cusecs on Tuesday, while Hussainiwala recorded 80,000 cusecs—almost double the normal flow of 40,000–45,000 cusecs. During the peak of the recent floods, this figure had shot up to a staggering 3 lakh cusecs.

At Kaluwala—the last Indian village on the border, surrounded on three sides by the Sutlej and fenced on the fourth by the Indo-Pak border—life has yet to return to normal, and the sudden rise in water level has again put them on edge.

Around 250 residents who had barely resettled after the recent floods were forced to leave again as the water level increased, though marginally. Sixteen families have now migrated towards the nearby Langiāna village, living under makeshift tarpaulin shelters, looking for government assistance.

The villagers said their tubewells and borewells still remained out of order, and electricity poles that had fallen during the floods have still not been erected, rendering the area in utter darkness. Swarn Singh, a 55-year-old resident of Kaluwala, shared his despair.

“My four acres of land are still buried under eight feet of sand. No machine can enter the village. My two sons, Malkeet and Jagdish, are still studying, but we don’t even have enough to pay for their education. Every day I wonder how we will survive. I just pray to "Waheguru" that we don’t have to endure more suffering,” he said, with moist eyes.

Another villager, 60-year-old Makhan Singh, recalled how his family spent restless nights on the roof of the primary school in the village during the floods.

“Twelve acres of my land have been completely washed away—it has apparently become part of the Sutlej only. One of my cows died due to a snakebite, and though an NGO later gave me another cattle, but the rise in water level again has unnerved us. Two rooms of my house collapsed during the floods, but I don’t have the means to rebuild them,” he lamented.

Surjit Singh, another resident, said his four acres were covered in sand, and the recent rains have made the fields muddy, making it impossible to remove the sand. “If this sand isn’t cleared soon, the sowing of the wheat crop will be delayed,” he said.

Former Sarpanch of Gatti Rajoke, Balbir Singh said that water has once again entered farmlands after the embankment on the Pakistani side, which had earlier breached, gave way again. “The gushing water has carved new streams across our fields.

In several places, the topsoil has been washed away, leaving deep craters behind,” he said, expressing the growing concern of farmers who now face another uncertain season ahead. Sandeep Goyal, Superintendent Engineer (Water Resources Department) said that following excessive rains in the catchment uphill, more water was released from both Bhakra and Pong dams downstream of Harike during the last two days, due to which the release downstream of Harike headworks towards Hussainiwala had increased to 93,000 cusecs, which has again come down to 85,000 cusecs today, adding that things should further normalize soon. Caption:

The residents of Kaluwala village staying near Langiana village due to the rising water level in the village.