Flood tests Lohian villagers’ grit & determination

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, July 26

Flood-hit villagers in Lohian are distressed and depressed and staring at a bleak future. “It seems we have nothing left to lose now because we have already lost everything in the floods,” they said.

NGOs pitch in to provide some relief

Youth Voice Foundation, in collaboration with Dev Samaj College for Women, Chandigarh, organised a donation drive to help the flood-hit population in areas surrounding Lohian and Sultanpur Lodhi villages. Another social organisation in Jalandhar, the Innerwheel Club, stepped forward to offer aid to the affected residents. The members of the club visited several villages, including Null, Mandala, Mandala Chhana and Yusuf Darewal, where they distributed 250 bags of eatables and other vital items to the flood-affected people. tns

A daily wager, Jaswant Singh, from Raiwal Bet village whose son was born during the 2019 floods said he lost all fodder that he had kept for the cattle. “I lost my only cattle in front of my eyes because I had nothing left to feed her. I have two children and although water didn’t enter my village, we have still suffered,” he said.

A marginal farmer from Mundi Shehrian, Didar Singh, informed that when water had started receding earlier, he had thought that things would possibly get back to normal. “But when the water level started to rise again, we lost all our hopes. There is so much sand and silt on my two acres of land, and it seems an impossible task to get rid of this mess because if we do not remove the sludge, it would not be possible to even sow wheat for us,” said an emotional Didar Singh.

A daily wager from Mehrajwala village who was earning a meagre amount and had saved money for his ailing mother now has not even a penny left as the money kept aside got washed away in the deluge. “Jin kisana naal asi kam karde si, ohna diya fasla vi mar gayiya,” he said. The strata below the poverty line and average earners are among the worst affected.

Dhakka Basti villagers who have lost their dwellings are spending days and nights at a mandi in Null. They said that they were leading a difficult life and demanded that the government give them land so that they could start their lives again, afresh.