Shahkot: Sand, silt render fields ‘unfit’ for sowing crops

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, July 18

As water started receding from flood-hit areas of Jalandhar, farmers visited their fields to assess the losses caused by floodwater. They were worried that their fields had now become unfit for the sowing of crop as massive amounts of sand and silt had covered them.

Farmer Daler Singh from Gatta Mundi Kasu village in Lohian broke down while talking about his predicament. “Now that not only has my crop been lost, but the fields are also unfit for sowing, how will I feed my family?” Daler asked. Other farmers of Gatta Mundi Kasu shared similar concerns. They said high-velocity floodwater had deposited sand and silt in their fields, which are now under three to four feet of sand.

“How will the saplings grow in fields covered with sand?” asked Balwinder Singh, another farmer from a flood-hit area.

Sarabjeet Singh, another farmer, said he had moved to a safer location before the flood hit the area. “But when I came back, I saw my fields filled with sand. They are damaged now and no one knows how to fix them,” he said.

Chief Agriculture Officer Jaswant Rai said, “It is undeniable that sand and silt have entered the fields. But water is still present. The situation can be assessed properly only after the water recedes.”