Wheat sown again in the fields of Mand area where floods had created a 50-foot-deep crater

Sultanpur Lodhi

( justice News)

In the Mand region of Baupur, where devastating floods once caused massive destruction, farmers are now gradually returning to normal life. On the night between 10 and 11 August, the temporary embankment of the Beas River near the village of Bhaini Kadar Bakhsh had collapsed. This severe flood had washed away the entire ready-to-harvest paddy crop of the farmers. In the land of three brothers of the same village, a crater more than 50 feet deep had formed across three acres.

To fill this huge crater, over 100 tractors operated daily under the leadership of Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal. It took 10 days to fill it completely and nearly ₹70 lakh worth of diesel was consumed. Sant Seechewal shared that farmers from three villages of Sirsa in Haryana had arrived with 16 tractors under the leadership of Baba Jaswinder Singh and Baba Jeet Singh. They served in the area for 15 days and had brought diesel along with them.

Today, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal personally sowed wheat in those fields. Driving the tractor himself, he sowed wheat in the fields of farmer Inderjeet Singh. This land lies close to the embankment where the breach had occurred earlier. Along with this, tractors are currently leveling 30–35 other fields, and wheat sowing will be carried out there in the coming days.

Farmer Jasbir Singh said that, thanks to the efforts of Sant Seechewal, wheat has already been sown in more than 150 acres. He added that during the floods, not only crops and homes were destroyed, but hopes were shattered too. Yet, Sant Seechewal kept the farmers motivated and supported them emotionally. On this occasion, farmers expressed their gratitude to him, whose efforts have helped the region get back on track.

*Box Item: Diesel still needed in Baupur Mand*

Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal said that the work of leveling the flood-affected fields and sowing wheat is still ongoing. Many areas continue to undergo leveling. Some farmers also need to sow fodder for their livestock. More wheat sowing remains to be done.

He expressed gratitude to NRIs who provided immense help during the floods. Although more than four months have passed since the disaster, many farmers are still waiting for the sand to be completely removed from their fields.