The North News
Chandigarh, September 1
The floods sweeping through Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are more than local crises, such disasters are national tragedies that call for an urgent, unified response. The calamity exposes a failure of governance, planning and coordination between the states and the Centre. Unless this crisis is recognised as a national disaster, both in spirit and in action, recovery will be delayed and millions of lives left in limbo.
But this is not only about nature’s fury. It is also about politics. For once, leaders of all political parties in Punjab and Himachal must put aside their rivalries and work together. In Himachal, Congress and BJP leaders must unite to persuade the Centre of the scale of damage. In Punjab, beyond writing letters, AAP must take opposition parties — Congress and BJP — into confidence and present a united front. Fragmented appeals will carry less weight in Delhi; only unity can push the Centre to act.
Punjab’s plight is severe. The swelling Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers have flooded Amritsar, Barnala, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Mansa, Pathankot, Patiala, Rupnagar, Sangrur and Pathankot. At least 29 people have died as floods ravaged 1,044 villages, with Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Amritsar among the worst hit. Nearly three lakh acres of farmland and about 2.56 lakh residents have been directly affected.
The response on the ground has been courageous. Punjab Police, NDRF, SDRF, the Army and local communities are working in tandem. So far, 14,936 people have been evacuated to safer places from flood-affected areas across the state. Yet, the scale is overwhelming. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the release of ₹60,000 crore in funds owed to the state, calling the crisis one of the worst flood disasters in decades. Seven districts remain under threat, and the closure of schools till September 3 shows how deeply daily life has been disrupted.
Himachal Pradesh’s tragedy is just as grim. Landslides and floods have crippled infrastructure: 819 roads blocked, three national highways cut off, more than 1,200 transformers down, and 424 water schemes paralysed. The worst-hit districts — Chamba, Mandi, Kullu and Kangra — are facing destruction on a massive scale. Between 20 June and 31 August alone, the state has suffered losses of more than ₹3,056 crore. The toll is staggering: 320 people dead, 40 missing, 379 injured. Hundreds of homes have collapsed, and thousands of livestock have perished.
What is striking today is the piecemeal approach. Punjab and Himachal are scrambling — distributing tarpaulins, carrying out rescues, regulating dam releases — but these are firefighting measures. Without direct and coordinated action from the Centre, including the declaration of a national disaster, both states will remain overwhelmed. Relief funds must be released urgently, rehabilitation organised comprehensively, and compensation guaranteed to affected families.
The India Meteorological Department has already issued a red alert for parts of both states, warning of very heavy rainfall. That forecast means the already critical situation will worsen, prolonging the suffering in villages, towns and farmlands now submerged.
This crisis also reveals states wider vulnerability to extreme weather. Punjab’s submerged fields represent not only lost crops but a blow to national food security. Himachal’s washed-away roads and power lines mean years of economic recovery. These are not isolated state tragedies but are national shocks.
The Centre cannot afford to drag its feet. An assessment must be completed immediately, and the floods formally declared a national disaster. Anything less is to abandon millions of citizens in their hour of greatest need.
Declaring this a national disaster would not only unlock resources; it would send a powerful message — that the lives and livelihoods of the people of Punjab and Himachal matter as much as any others in the country. To delay is to abdicate responsibility.
