Saptrishi Soni: Punjab declares itself a disaster-affected state on 3 Sept 2025 after worst floods since 1988 submerge over 1,200 villages, killing 30, impacting 3.5 lakh people, and prompting school closures and emergency rescues.
Punjab officially declared itself a disaster-affected state on 3 September 2025, as authorities struggled to contain what Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann characterized as the worst floods since 1988. Torrential monsoon rains, swollen rivers—including the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi—and releases from upstream dams have combined to trigger catastrophic inundation, submerging over 1,200 villages and affecting more than 3.5 lakh residents across 23 of the state’s districts. Official bulletins confirmed at least 30 fatalities, and thousands have been displaced from riverine communities into relief camps and temporary shelters.The Times of India+1Wikipedia
The state’s education apparatus ground to a halt with all schools, colleges, universities, and polytechnics ordered closed until 7 September, a decision taken in the interest of safety and to allow relief agencies unimpeded access to affected zones. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, citing direct instructions from CM Mann, urged adherence to local administration guidelines.The Economic
Rescue operations are in full swing, with the NDRF, Punjab Police, SDRF, BSF, and the Army coordinating evacuations, distributing food, medicines, and essential supplies. In flood-struck areas like Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Gurdaspur, local officials and volunteers have mobilized to provide relief amid surging waters.
The scale of the crisis has sparked their unprecedented level of alarm across Punjab’s rural heartlands—families stranded atop homes, roads rendered impassable, crops destroyed, livestock swept away and communication cut off. CM Mann emphasized both immediate relief and the vital need for long-term flood-management infrastructure, signaling the state would press for central assistance.The Times of IndiaWikipedia
Community groups have stepped in to fill gaps: NGOs and religious organizations—including the Sarbat Da Bhala Trust, Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya in Gurdaspur, and Kalgidhar Trust—are distributing dry rations, medicines, and fodder, sometimes reaching where state machinery struggles to tread.
Experts warn that Punjab’s agricultural economy, with over 2.5 lakh acres of farmland submerged, faces long-term consequences. Recovery efforts must now pivot from rescue to rehabilitation, farming revival, drainage planning, and ecological restoration. For a state that feeds millions, restoring rural lifelines may take months.
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