Punjab is facing its most severe flooding in nearly four decades, with torrential rain and overflowing rivers leaving vast swathes of the state under water, damaging farmland and displacing thousands of residents. According to The New Indian Express, 22 out of Punjab’s 23 districts have been hit, affecting more than 1,300 villages and nearly three lakh acres of crops.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the disaster as one of the worst in decades and urging the immediate release of Rs 60,000 crore that he said was pending with the Union Government. In his letter, Mann emphasised that “nearly 3 lakh acres of mainly paddy crops are submerged just weeks before harvest”, while losses of livestock have compounded the suffering of rural families.
Data shared by Punjab’s Revenue and Disaster Management Department showed that 1,312 villages are inundated, with the highest concentration in Gurdaspur (324), Kapurthala (123) and Ferozepur (107). The Times of India reported that almost a third of the affected villages lie in Gurdaspur alone. In Fazilka, over 41,099 acres of farmland have been damaged, while thousands of hectares in Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Pathankot and Hoshiarpur are also under water.
The flooding has already claimed at least 26 lives, according to The New Indian Express, including that of an irrigation department worker who fell into the Ravi while attempting to open floodgates at the Madhopur barrage. Times of India confirmed three separate flood-related fatalities in Barnala, Ferozepur and Kapurthala. In one case, 32-year-old Lakhwinder Singh was killed in a roof collapse in Barnala, leaving his wife and daughters injured.
The scale of the crisis has forced a multi-agency mobilisation. The Army, Air Force, Navy, BSF, Punjab Police, Fire Brigade, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are all deployed in different districts. The New Indian Express reported that six NDRF teams are stationed in Gurdaspur, with additional teams active in Fazilka, Ferozepur, Pathankot and Amritsar, while SDRF units are operating in Kapurthala.
Rescue operations have so far saved over 11,000 people, with another 4,700 evacuated from marooned homes, Times of India noted. At least 77 relief camps have been set up across affected districts, sheltering nearly 5,000 residents. Ferozepur has the highest number of displaced persons, followed by Hoshiarpur and Pathankot. Evacuations are being carried out with the help of boats, while helicopters have been deployed for airlifting in severely inundated areas.
Punjab’s leadership has repeatedly highlighted the financial stress the state is under. In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mann criticised the “grossly inadequate” norms of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). At present, compensation for crop losses beyond 33% damage stands at Rs 17,000 per hectare. Mann said the state tops this up to Rs 15,000 per acre but argued that at least Rs 50,000 per acre was necessary given the magnitude of destruction, The New Indian Express reported.
He also flagged what he described as a permanent loss of nearly Rs 50,000 crore in revenue due to the replacement of VAT by GST, alongside cuts in rural development and market development funds, which he said had cost the state an additional Rs 8,000 crore.
Meanwhile, officials have ordered a special girdawari (crop damage survey) across districts to ensure accurate assessment of losses and timely compensation. In a precautionary measure, the state government has extended school closures until September 3. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains appealed to parents to prioritise safety, urging teachers to coordinate with local administrations to support relief efforts.
Authorities remain on alert as the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Ghaggar continue to run high, swollen by heavy inflows from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Sources cited by The New Indian Express said that water levels at Chika, Khanauri and Sardulgarh remain dangerously elevated, though just below official danger marks.
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