DISASTER MANAGEMENT
8 SEPTEMBER 2025
- Punjab has been hit by one of the worst floods in recent decades, affecting around 2,000 villages across 18 of the State’s 23 districts.
- Nearly four lakh people have been impacted by the floods, and 46 deaths were reported till September 6, 2025.
- Heavy rainfall caused the Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas rivers to swell, leading to breaches in embankments and flooding of agricultural lands.
- Crops on about 1.72 lakh hectares have been damaged, with Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Mansa, Ferozepur, and Fazilka being the worst-hit districts.
- Paddy, the main kharif crop of Punjab, has been severely damaged, with farmer groups estimating that about 30% of the total crop has been lost.
- Farmers now fear that the wheat crop, usually sown in early November, will also be affected because the water will take months to recede and fields will require time to be rebuilt.
- Farmer groups have demanded immediate compensation of at least ₹70,000 per acre for damaged crops, along with aid for livestock losses.
- The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to declare the situation a “national disaster” in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana.
