‘The Sutlej swallowed my house’: As floodwaters recede, Punjab farmers return to damaged houses, lost farmland

The foundation of Joginder’s house is weak after being inundated. “The water has receded, but the ground floor is unliveable. We shifted some belongings to the rooftop. It seems we have no option but to live under tents or on terraces. Immediate help for house repairs is the need of the hour. Or else, if the government can allot us land away from the river, we are ready to leave the village forever. We are tired of vacating homes during floods or in war-like situations,” Joginder said.

The district shares the international border with Pakistan.

When farmland turns into a riverbed

Kaluwala is a small village of just 35-40 houses, with a population of about 350, including 140 voters. Situated right on the banks of the Sutlej, it has seen repeated displacements—not just during the 2023 floods, but also in May this year during Operation Sindoor.

“Why can’t the government shift us to safer ground? We are only 40 houses, yet every time there is a flood or tension on the border, we are the first to vacate. This is no way to live,” said Jagdish Singh, 35, whose house has also been damaged. He is temporarily living in Nihalewala.

Malkiat Singh, 45, evacuated his house in Kaluwala village in early September and shifted to a relief camp. “Now, I can’t find my house in the village. The Sutlej swallowed my entire house,” he said. The Sutlej River is flowing through the area where his house once stood, Malkiat added.

The Sutlej has also devoured much of the agricultural land here. Of nearly 1,000 acres of the riverbed area in Kaluwala, approximately 150 acres remain visible; the rest has been swallowed up as the river shifted its course.

“Large chunks of land on which we used to do farming now lie within the riverbed. For us farmers, this is more frightening than the floods,” Joginder said, appealing to philanthropists for help. “Repair of houses must come first—the rest can wait,” he added.

This land—provincial land belonging to the government—was not in the name of the farmers, and hence, they will not get compensation.

Joginder Singh, a member of the Nihalewala and Kaluwala village panchayats, said that though the water has receded, power is yet to be restored in several villages. “Our question is, ‘how should we live in broken houses without power?’. Relief works need to focus on rehabilitation rather than distributing rations or other supplies. NGOs should work constructively,” he added.

Fear on the border

In neighbouring Tendiwala village, which lies along the Sutlej and across from Pakistan, the story is no different. Parkash Singh recalled how no household was fully evacuated during the floods. “At least two people in every house stayed behind—on rooftops or in neighbours’ homes—to guard belongings. I stayed in my neighbour’s house with my brother, shifting some cattle there. Others had moved to Bareke relief camp set up by the government.”

His own house was submerged under 3 ft of water. “We saved what we could by shifting things to relatives’ houses and to the first floor. Now we are busy washing the floors, scrubbing walls, and trying to hide cracks that have developed. But 37 acres of my farmland lie in the riverbed—it seems like it has gone forever.”

Jeet Singh, former sarpanch, pointed to another long-standing grievance of border farmers. “Since 2019, we have stopped getting compensation for riverbed land because it is not in our names. The policy of jisda khet, ohdi ret (sand for those whose fields got silted) does not apply here because the ones who used to do farming in the river bed area have been swallowed altogether. Where will we get sand from? Only land outside the riverbed can be cleared, and that too when the soil finally dries up.”

An uncertain future

In Tendiwala, families are moving into damaged houses. Women are scrubbing walls while men clear debris, yet many still sleep on rooftops as the ground floors remain unsafe. “Repairing our homes is the most urgent task. Other relief measures can wait. We were lucky to survive, but we are unable to start life afresh,” said Kuldeep Singh.

For farmers, the bigger worry is the loss of livelihood. “One ration kit or utensils may help us for a month, but farming is our life. I had three acres in the riverbed—now taken away by the Sutlej. What do I do tomorrow?” asked Malkit Singh.

As officials estimate that over 2,000 villages across Punjab have been affected by this year’s floods, border residents say they feel abandoned. For them, rebuilding their homes is just the beginning—the harder task is rebuilding lives amid the uncertainty of the changing course of the Sutlej.

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