As the monsoon season approaches, anxiety has gripped residents of the Urban Estate in Patiala, one of the low-lying areas in Punjab city. The Ghaggar river and the key drains – Badi Nadi and Chhoti Nadi – are swelling with silt, stirring memories of the devastating floods in 2023.
64-year-old Amarjit Waraich, former director of All India Radio, has invested over Rs 45,000 as he installed custom-made iron angles and placed his furniture on them to prevent damage from flood waters. He decided to do so in anticipation of damage to his furniture worth lakhs.
“We don’t trust the government. AAP minister Dr Balbir Singh is from here. He visited this place and got pictures clicked but I don’t think the government has done much. So, I have ordered these angles,” Amarjit told India Today TV.
Amarjit uses chairs to climb onto his bed, which is over two feet high.
Like Amarjit, other residents are also taking proactive steps to protect their homes. Retired bureaucrat Manjit Singh Narang has installed a three-foot barrier around his house to ward off potential water ingress.
Others in the neighbourhood are also following similar techniques. Manjit Singh Narang, who retired in 2019, said: “Our house got flooded last year and there was damage worth Rs 10–12 lakh. There is no help from the administration either.”
Last July, floods wreaked havoc across Patiala, causing extensive damage to property. Another couple – Aditya and Anjana – recalled the losses they suffered last year. They are independently safeguarding valuables on elevated iron tables this year.
“We already moved some of our furniture and gas stove to the first floor,” they said.
The couple had taken home insurance but could only recover Rs 1 lakh compared to damages of Rs 12 lakh of furniture and electronics.
Meanwhile, villagers across the Patiala district, especially farmers, worry about potential flooding of their paddy fields due to rising Ghaggar water levels.
Source Agencies
