[News] ‘Everything is gone’: Punjabi farmers suffer worst floods in three decades

[-_-Moltres-_-]

 

For days, farmers in the Indian state of Punjab watched the pounding monsoon rains fall and the rivers rise with mounting apprehension. By Wednesday, many woke to find their fears realised as the worst floods in more than three decades ravaged their farms and decimated their livelihoods. Hundreds of thousands of acres of bright green rice paddies – due to be harvested imminently – as well as crops of cotton and sugar cane were left destroyed as they became fully submerged in more than five feet of muddy brown flood waters. The bodies of drowned cattle littered the ground. “The crops are ruined, and even our homes are in danger of collapsing,” said Parmpreet Singh, 52, a farmer from Ajnala in Amritsar district, Punjab. His family, including his elderly mother and two young children, were now living on the roof of their house to stay safe from the murky flood waters.“My entire livelihood depends on my seven hectares of farmland, all of which has been destroyed by flood waters,” he said, despairing that his only option left would be to sell his land and abandon farming. “I had already invested most of my money into seeds and fertilisers for the previous crop. Now everything is gone.”While monsoon season usually brings heavy rain, the extreme levels of rainfall that fell across northern India this week caused untold damage in Punjab, resulting in flash floods and swollen rivers breaching their banks and overflowing into fields and villages. So far, 43 people have lost their lives and almost 2,000 villages in the state have been affected, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and access to clean water. The stench of rotting animal carcasses hangs over many villages.“This is the worst time Punjab has ever faced,” said Parminder Singh Pinki, a lawmaker from Firozpur district in western Punjab, one of the areas badly hit by floods. “I have never witnessed such devastation in my lifetime. Entire farmlands are submerged under water, now layered with mud and sand.” India’s farmers have already faced mounting hardship, with millions saddled with high debts, low incomes and heavy crop losses in the face of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather conditions brought on by the climate crisis. Pinki was among those who accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government, led by Narendra Modi, of negligence towards farmers and simply abandoning them to their fate during this year’s extreme monsoon. “The government had been aware for months about the weather forecasts and should have put proper measures and emergency responses in place,” he said. “But that never happened, and this failure has led to destruction on such a massive scale.” He was echoed by Surinder Singh, 75, a farmer from Sarala Kalan village in Patiala. For days, he had watched the canal near to their village getting higher and higher, but had been powerless to stop it. “The government will make promises of relief, but the farmers will end up receiving nothing,” he said. “In the end, we are left to take care of ourselves.” Like many, he questioned the long-term viability of Indian agriculture, which employs half the country’s workforce and keeps food on the country’s tables. “I cannot imagine what is left for our future generations,” he said. “Floods and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and the future does not look any better. If the farmers of Punjab – the food bowl of India – cannot even feed themselves, how will they feed others?”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/06/everything-gone-punjabi-farmers-suffer-worst-floods-three-decades