This is the seventh of a 7-part series. Read the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth parts
Amid the recent flood disaster, government representatives were nowhere to be seen. But acts of brotherhood were visible across Punjab.
The disaster created inhumane conditions, which were clearly visible on the streets, as Down To Earth (DTE) found.
In Jatta village of Ajnala tehsil, the worst-affected area in Amritsar district, Narinder Singh stood amid waterlogged roads. “Clean water is not available, and whatever aid is arriving from outside is getting stuck on the roads. Nothing is reaching the villages themselves,” he told DTE.
Urban labourers from various districts of Punjab and neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, crowded the streets, waiting for help.
Near Gaggo Mahal village in Ajnala tehsil, similar crowds of urban labourers, homeless men and women had gathered. Relief material was distributed at a temporary camp, but people from nearby villages reported that most of the aid ended up on the roads.
However, as the state abdicated its duty, people from within and outside Punjab stepped in to fill the vacuum.
A group of residents from Ahulana village in the Gana tehsil of neighbouring Haryana’s Sonipat district, collected 500 maunds of grain and more than Rs 600,000. They reached Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to help. Gulab Pradhan, one of the residents, told DTE, “People from all 36 castes came together to help Punjab. That state is the elder brother of Haryana, and it is our duty to help.”
About four kilometres from the Ravi, between Ghonewala and Machhiwal villages in Ajnala tehsil, DTE came across repair work being carried out on the 18-20 feet high Dhussi bund (embankment). People kept arriving continuously from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, other parts of Ajnala tehsil, Moga district, and other areas. A large number of volunteers was present, bringing soil, rations, medicines, and food supplies.
Jarnail Singh came to offer sewa (service) at Ajnala. While repairing the embankment, he said, “The water flow was so strong that a large portion of the Dhussi bund was completely destroyed, and in no time, crops, livestock, and even some lives were lost. But we will rebuild it.”
Mandeep Singh travelled nearly 1,200 kilometres by tractor from Lakhimpur in Uttar Pradesh, bringing wheat and money to Dera Baba Nanak. He said, “Every person in our village contributed something to help Punjab in this disaster.”
Ranjit Kaur, a farmer from Ferozepur district, said they had not heard from the government, but farmers from various places offered to help remove silt from the fields. “Currently, the soil is muddy; once it dries, people have promised to bring their diesel and tractors to help.”
Tej Pratap Singh distributed a truckload of animal feed among farmers and appealed that the fodder must reach affected farmers.
This example of brotherhood in Punjab is emerging as a beacon of hope.