Sanghera (Moga), July 16:Standing paddy crop and green fodder—spread over hundreds of acres— has been submerged under water and possibly damaged in several villages of Moga district as the Sutlej swelled up due to heavy rain on Tuesday.
The villages are located in the Dhusi bundh of the river in the Dharamkot sub-division of Moga district.
Heavy rainfall in its catchment areas during the past 24 hours and the addition of water from seasonal rivulets— Siswan, Budhki, Sagrao, Budha Nullah and the Jasowal drain downstream of the Ropar headworks—has caused the river to swell.
Affected areas include Sanghera, Mandar, Melak Kanga, Kamoh Kalan, Kamoh Khurd, Daulewala, Sherewala Bagge, Sherpur Taiba, Rehrwan.
“Paddy, green fodder and mint crops have been damaged on more than 1500 acres of land in multiple villages,” said Balkar Singh, Sarpanch of Sanghera village.
A vast stretch of cultivable fields are located in the bundh.
Some families have moved children and women to safer places. Cattle have also been shifted to safer places.
Several link roads were also submerged in water. People, however, could be spotted wading through water on the roads in search for essential commodities— locals alleged there was shortage of potable water.
The Sanghera village, where several houses have been submerged under water, has been completely disconnected from other areas due to water-logging.
Government officials, however, said that there was no water-logging along the bundh or crop damage in the area.
“As far as initial reports are concerned there are no losses to crops outside the Dhusi bundh area but we will conduct girdawari (survey) in the next few days”, said Narinder Singh Dhaliwal, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dharamkot.
Dhaliwal said that it is likely that the area inside the bundh was affected by the incessant rain.
“We have no idea of losses inside the Dhusi bundh area. There is a huge stretch of land inside the bundh, but we do not conduct girdawari as per the rules of the revenue department. The areas inside the bundh have been affected by river water, which is quite normal during the monsoon periods”, he added.
Residents demand compensation
Residents in the affected villages have demanded compensation from the state government for the damage to crops inside the Dhusi bundh area.
“We used to get compensation for crop losses inside the Dhusi bundh during the SAD-BJP government, but after the Congress came to power the district administration has stopped the assessment of losses during the monsoons”, said Jaspinder Kaur, Sarpanch of Takhtuwala village.
Meanwhile, the residents of Sanghera have demanded the government construct a ring road with a height of 7 to 8 feet around the village, which would work as a ‘bundh’ and keep the river water from entering the residential areas.
