Sutlej breaches a challenge for admn

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 21 

While the entire district administration, including DC, SSP and other officials, have been up on their toes overseeing relief work, continued breaches have posed a huge problem for the administration. 

From two breaches at Phillaur (Mao Sahib, Bhaini and Mianwal) in the morning on August 19, two at Janian Chahal and Janian in the afternoon on the same day and two at Kapurthala Gidderpindi and Darewal have taken place. 

On August 20, there were breaches at the Mandala (Jalandhar) and Sarupwal (Kapurthala). Two new breaches at Mandala Channa village in Jalandhar and Indessar village in Kapurthala occurred on Wednesday. 

Villagers at Janian Chahal maintained that there were at least three spots on Dhussi Bundh at the stretch from Fatehpur to Janian Chahal which were vulnerable. 

Gursewak Singh from Fatehpur said: “We, the villagers, dropped loads of sand bags and soil on the bundh at Fatehpur, otherwise, our village would also have been flooded. There are several more vulnerable spots. These need immediate repairs to prevent further damage. While the water levels had risen and have gone down, the flow of water is very fast and we cannot say yet the water has begun to recede. We cannot even travel to Sultanpur Lodhi to study due to large part of the bundh being washed away and the village being cut off from the rest of the area.”

Do-gooders pour in

While there is a dearth of relief to the flooded villages due to a lack of boats, relief on the bundh has been flooding in with various villagers from Jalandhar, Lohian, Shahkot, Kapurthala all the way to Amritsar and Moga coming into provide langar to villagers. At least a dozen organisations were seen providing langar to relief workers, villagers and visitors to Dhussi Bandh on Janian Chahal this afternoon. Many of these organisations and villagers were also indulged in rescue ops to help the stranded villagers. 

The bundh is also lined with persons from the Gujjar community and other villagers who have set up tarpaulins, keeping belongings and animals under it ever since the flood damaged their homes. Wounded animals and villagers’ cots, almirahs, coolers, refrigerators, bikes etc are all lined on the bundh.