Khalsa Aid extends a helping hand, touching hearts in flood-hit Punjab
Khalsa Aid and Akal Purakh Ki Fauj have launched Khushian Da Basta (bag of happiness), a campaign to provide every flood-affected child in Punjab with a new school bag, each filled with seven notebooks, pens and stationery.
Amid the unprecedented floods devastating parts of Punjab in both India and Pakistan, Khalsa Aid has been conducting relief operations on both sides of the international border while also offering sustainable solutions for flood-affected regions.
Having been into disaster relief works for over 26 years, Khalsa Aid has been active on the ground since day one of the flooding, distributing essentials and providing urgent care. In Pakistan, where floodwaters reached sacred sites like Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, volunteers served langar (free meals), distributed clean water and supplied purification tablets to prevent water-borne disease. Other gurdwaras such as Babe Di Ber (Sialkot) and Darbar Sahib (Kartarpur) have become relief hubs for the displaced families, said Ravi Singh while speaking over phone from the UK.
Kulwant Singh Mumbai, a trustee of Khalsa Aid, said, “In total, around 600 volunteers—including singers and artistes—are involved in the efforts. Many volunteers have joined us in sewa (selfless service).”
In addition to emergency aid, Khalsa Aid is planning long-term rehabilitation. “We’re proposing flood-resilient schools on 10–12-foot-high platforms to serve both as educational institutions and evacuation centres,” said founder Ravi Singh. These schools will include large water tanks and animal shelters to help rural communities during future disasters.
The initiative aims to empower flood-prone villages with self-sustaining infrastructure, reducing dependence on government relief and boosting community resilience, he added.
Former SGPC member Jaswinder Singh, who heads Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, an allied organisation, outlined Khalsa Aid’s three-phase response: immediate relief, damage assessment and livelihood restoration. “We’ve already completed the first phase. In the third, we’ll help farmers reclaim sand-filled fields using tractors and labour and support small traders in restarting businesses. During the 2023 floods, the relief operation of Khalsa Aid lasted one and half years. We had made farmers’ land cultivable at the cost of ₹4 crore in Munda Pind of Tarn Taran district.”
Local activist Baba Nand Singh called Khalsa Aid the “saviour” of Punjab, praising its transformative efforts after past floods and the current crisis.
Support has poured in from across India, including 122 Mumbai-area gurdwara committees, which have raised ₹80 lakh so far toward a ₹2-crore goal.
Khalsa Aid and Akal Purakh Ki Fauj have launched Khushian Da Basta (bag of happiness), a campaign to provide every flood-affected child in Punjab with a new school bag, each filled with seven notebooks, pens and stationery.
