Patti, Tarn Taran – Fear and anger swept through Sabar village after a 10-foot breach appeared in the Sutlej River embankment, raising the risk of devastating floods. With no official intervention, villagers rushed to repair the gap themselves, throwing soil and cutting down large trees to shore up the damaged structure.
Residents accused the Punjab government of indifference, recalling the 2023 disaster when thousands of acres of crops were destroyed after a dam failure. “If this embankment breaks again, farmland will vanish, and entire villages will be submerged,” villagers warned while working on the site.
Locals said water had been flowing into the Sutlej for over 10 days, yet no state official had visited the region. They slammed the Aam Aadmi Party government as “anti-farmer” and “anti-people” for failing to respond.
Leaders from several farmer unions, including Sahib Singh Sabra, State Finance Secretary of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee Punjab Court Budha; Jasbir Singh Aluwalia, State President of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee; and Sohan Singh Sabra, Block President of BKU (Eka Ugrahan), joined villagers in their protest against the administration.