Ludhiana DC writes a letter to the army seeking help.

“Ludhiana DC writes a letter to the army seeking help: Sutlej river changes its course; danger at Sasrali dam, engineering support demanded.”

The Sasrali Colony dam in Ludhiana, Punjab, is in critically poor condition. Farmers’ fields are being extensively and continuously eroded as a result of the Sutlej River’s altered course. Consequently, about 300 acres of crops have already been devastated.

As the situation worsens, Himanshu Jain, the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana, has written to the army and submitted a copy to the Punjab Chief Secretary. The Sutlej dam is a major concern for the administration.

“In a letter, SDM Jasleen Kaur asked for engineering help to secure the dam. According to her, the agricultural land outside the Dhusi dam in the Machewara area is constantly being eroded by the Sutlej River’s steady flow of water. Farmers are losing their valuable property as a result of the river’s ongoing erosion activities.” The administration is using all available resources on its own, but considering the seriousness of the situation, the army has been requested to immediately provide assistance and send a technical team from its engineering wing so that the continuous erosion of the land can be stopped immediately.”

As it is, the riverbed where the Sutlej once flowed is now dry, and the farmers’ property has been flooded where the river is currently running. The administration had also slowed down a little once the flood threat had passed, and humanitarian workers and NGOs had also returned. However, the Sutlej is currently consuming the farms of defenceless farmers on a daily basis. “People said that according to an estimate, within the Dhusi dam, about three hundred acres of land, and close to the dam, about a hundred acres of land, have been submerged in water.”

Villagers claim that while the water level in Sasrali is below ground level, in other parts of Punjab the water overflowed its banks and wreaked destruction. But in this case, the river’s altered route is what’s causing the harm. At regular intervals, chunks of soil can be seen dropping into the river, while the water of the river is continuously striking the banks.