Residents on edge

Tribune News Service

Gidderpindi (Jalandhar), August 20

Flooded due to the swollen Sutlej, villages in Jalandhar and Kapurthala are still grappling with monsoon fury.

Besides the villages where breaches took place — Mandala and Janian Chahar villages in Shahkot subdivision of Jalandhar and Sarupwal village of Kapurthala — around 80 villages had been inundated in the two districts.

Before the Army was called in to expedite the work of plugging the breaches, villagers said they were handling everything on their own.

While around 50 villages, including Gidderpindi, Kutbewal, Kalu Mundi and Nawan Pind Khalewal, were affected in Jalandhar, around 30 were flooded in Kapurthala. Around 30,000 acres had reportedly been submerged.

When The Tribune team reached the spot where the breach took place, several marginal farmers whose fields were destroyed complained of lack of administrative concern. Standing on railway tracks, they were looking at their submerged fields.

Farmers who owned barely 4-10 acres said they were unsure of their survival. Jasvir Singh from Gidderpindi said: “I own 4 acres and had sown paddy by taking loans worth lakhs of rupees. Now, everything is finished. I am just praying for a miracle.”

Sukhdev Singh, another farmer, said his 10 acres were completely destroyed. “We had spent lakhs on just pesticides and insecticides. Rest of the expenses you can imagine. I had never faced such a situation in my life,” he said.

Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Varinder Sharma said: “Despite rigorous efforts of the district administration, some people have not been evacuated due to which they are stranded.”

400 shifted to camps

• Over 400 displaced villagers will be spending the night at makeshift camps in Shahkot (Lohian) and Phillaur alone.
• While about 250 are at Government School Lohian, 50 to 70 at Nal village and over 100 are putting up at Government School Mianwal in Phillaur.