From poor sewage management to overflowing rivers — Why is Punjab flooding so much? 

After a week of ravaging rains, the weather is finally settling down in the plains. But the flood situation in Punjab still continues to be grim with more than 10 people dying, 20 houses collapsing and a number of roads washing away over the last three days.

So, why is Punjab flooding this much?

In Punjab, the overflowing of rivers including Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Ghaggar has led to a breach in embankments causing flash floods in villages. Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts recorded several incidents of water accumulation in the villages due to an overflowing Sutlej.

Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bathinda, and Amritsar, like most other Indian cities, are a victim of poor stormwater management and were all flooded.. The excess amount of rain overwhelmed the disjointed and poorly planned sanitary sewer systems, creating multiple-water logging.

The sudden downpour has also affected the dams in northern India. As the rains continue, several dams in Punjab and other parts of the north have crossed the dangerous water level mark.

In the past three days, Bhakra Dam witnessed a 6.5 metre jump in its water level. The levels reached 494 metres on July 11 with the maximum filling capacity being 512 metres, leaving no other option apart from opening the shutters.

This, along with poor maintenance and upkeep of dams and bunds, added to the district-wide floods. On July 10, 2023, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered to ascertain the loss to agriculture and discuss compensations.

Meanwhile, the latest reports suggest that as many as 1,480 people have been rescued from Ropar and 107 from Patiala.

With climate change, these unprecedented extreme weather incidents have become recurring events. Experts have advised the government to have contingency plans and have proper sewage systems in place to tackle upcoming challenges.