Heavy Flooding Devastates Punjab Farms and Livelihoods
For days, farmers in Punjab, India, watched anxiously as monsoon rains pounded their fields and rivers swelled. By Wednesday, their worst fears were realized as the worst floods in over 30 years submerged their farms and destroyed their livelihoods.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of rice paddies, along with cotton and sugarcane crops ready for harvest, were engulfed in more than five feet of murky floodwater. The bodies of drowned cattle lay scattered across the sodden land.
“The crops are ruined, and even our homes could collapse,” said Parmpreet Singh, 52, a farmer from Ajnala in Punjab’s Amritsar district. His family, including his elderly mother and two children, were forced to take shelter on their rooftop to escape the rising waters.
Singh’s seven hectares of farmland—his only source of income—were entirely destroyed. “I had invested most of my savings in seeds and fertilizers. Now everything is gone,” he said, despairing that he may have to sell his land and leave farming behind.
While monsoons typically bring heavy rainfall, this week’s extreme downpours in northern India triggered flash floods, causing rivers to overflow into fields and villages. At least 43 people have died, and nearly 2,000 villages have been affected, leaving many without power or clean water. The air in some areas is thick with the smell of dead livestock.
“This is Punjab’s worst disaster in memory,” said Parminder Singh Pinki, a lawmaker from Firozpur, one of the hardest-hit districts. “I’ve never seen such devastation. Farmland is underwater, coated in mud and sand.”
Indian farmers already struggle with high debts, low incomes, and unpredictable weather linked to climate change. Pinki criticized the government for failing to act swiftly despite weather warnings.
“Officials knew for months about the forecast. They should have prepared emergency measures,” he said. “Their inaction led to this catastrophe.”
Surinder Singh, 75, from Sarala Kalan village, echoed the sentiment. For days, he watched helplessly as floodwaters from a nearby canal rose.
“Authorities will promise aid, but farmers will get little,” he said.
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