Punjab continues to grapple with severe flooding that left fields, homes, and entire villages submerged, displacing lakhs of residents and causing widespread destruction. Amidst the crisis, a video circulated widely on social media showing a man wading through waterlogged land with a flask to serve tea to relief workers who had arrived to distribute aid.
The video, which captured a flood-affected family’s gesture of offering refreshments despite their own losses, was reshared by cricketer and Rajya Sabha member Harbhajan Singh, who described it as a reflection of the state’s resilience.
Posting on X, he wrote: “When volunteers went to deliver relief materials, the flood-affected family despite having lost almost everything prepared tea and served it to the volunteers in return. That’s the spirit of Punjab. Rab de bande.”
According to official figures, floods has impacted 23 districts in Punjab, with nearly 1,400 villages and more than 3.5 lakh people affected. Pathankot reported six deaths, the highest in the state, followed by Ludhiana with four fatalities.
Gurdaspur emerged as the worst-hit district, with 324 villages affected, followed by Amritsar (135 villages) and Hoshiarpur (119 villages). Damage to agriculture was extensive, with crops spread across 1,48,590 hectares destroyed.
Evacuation and rescue operations were continuing at scale. A total of 19,597 people had been moved to safer locations, including 5,581 from Gurdaspur, 3,432 from Ferozepur, and 2,734 from Amritsar. Relief arrangements included 174 camps across districts, of which 74 were operational, with Barnala hosting 29, Amritsar 16, and Pathankot 14.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had deployed 23 teams, including six each in Gurdaspur and Amritsar, and three each in Ferozepur and Fazilka.
Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian stated that more than 2.56 lakh people across 12 districts had been affected. He added that the floods had caused significant damage to human lives, housing, agriculture, and livestock.
The state government had also set up 129 relief camps sheltering 7,144 people. Ferozepur housed the largest number with 3,987 inmates, followed by Fazilka (1,201), Hoshiarpur (478), Pathankot (411), and Gurdaspur (424).
As of the latest assessment, 1,044 villages were inundated, including 321 in Gurdaspur, 115 in Kapurthala, 94 in Hoshiarpur, 88 in Amritsar, and 82 in Pathankot. Gurdaspur remained the most severely affected, with nearly 1.45 lakh people impacted, while Amritsar had over 35,000, Ferozepur around 24,015, and Fazilka 21,562.
On Tuesday, India Test captain Shubman Gill, who hails from Punjab, also posted about the situation. Writing on X, he said: “Heartbroken to see my Punjab devastated by floods. Punjab will always be stronger than any adversity, and we’ll rise up from this. My prayers are with all affected families. Standing strong with my people.”
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