2023 flood memories still fresh, villagers along Ghaggar fear monsoon fury

With the memories of the 2023 floods still fresh, residents living alongside the flood-prone Ghaggar fear the worst as the monsoon nears. From shifting their makeshift kitchens on the first floor to ensuring repairs and stocking ration, residents believe no one when it comes to floods and the government’s preparedness.

Mandeep Kaur, 53, from Dharamherhi village has started setting up a temporary kitchen on the first floor of her house and says this is an annual drill for hundreds of residents of villages along the Ghaggar, a bane of the area. “Every monsoon, we move our rations and potable water to the first floor to survive in case of floods, which are quite common during this time of the year. My relatives have already discussed how the government has failed to do much to tame the Ghaggar,” she says, adding they save up on dry fodder for cattle as well.

Shadow over marriages

The fear of flooding has also led to a major social disruption. Villagers in the Ghaggar catchment areas say they find it difficult to get a match for their boys as no one is willing to marry their daughters in villages where floods are a constant threat.

“My brother owned 15 acres of land, but it took a lot of effort to get him married as people are reluctant to send their daughters to our village, which is the first to be affected by monsoon floods. Eventually, we had to marry him to a girl from another flood-hit village of Gheora,” says Amardeep Singh, a farmer.

Flowing from the Shivalik hills, the seasonal river wreaked havoc in 2010 and 2023, besides causing damage almost every alternate year.

“We never feel safe living here (near Ghaggar), but there is nothing much we can do. Leaders come, they win polls and vanish. All promises have been hollow and funds never enough to address our concern. Floods can spoil our lives anytime during monsoon,” says Niranjan Singh of Hashampur Mangta, a village hit badly by 2023 floods.

In Ghanaur and Sanaur, villagers claim that the 2023 floods washed away fertile soil from their agricultural land and they had to buy soil last year for their paddy crop. “In case of floods we will suffer double losses if Ghaggar breaches again. You can see yourself that minimal work has been done on strengthening the banks and even cleaning the river bed,” they say.

In July 2023, floods wreaked havoc across Patiala district, causing significant loss to the property. A former irrigation official said earlier, the river banks spanned nearly 500 metres at some places, ensuring unhindered flow of excess water, causing minimal damage. But with the passage of time, illegal structures started coming up along the river, obstructing the natural flow of water and causing excessive damage regularly.

“Illegal structures such as deras and illegal sheds have come up on the banks. In the absence of checks over the years due to political interference, the river sheet spread area has decreased considerably, causing flooding,” said the former Chief Engineer.

Meanwhile authorities at Patiala say they have floated tenders and work was in progress and would be completed in by this month.

Punjab