Ludhiana: Illegal mining behind flood threat in district, says Sukhbir
Badal handed over ₹3 lakh to the local sarpanch to purchase diesel and materials, and directed senior party worker Parmjit Singh Dhillon to coordinate relief
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of allowing rampant “illegal mining” that weakened the embankments. Sukhbir, who was in Fasse village of the district where the Sutlej water level neared the breach point recently, said, “People here are fighting two battles—one against nature and another against corrupt officers and politicians. Illegal mining has eaten away at Punjab’s bundhs. The government has abandoned them. Now villagers are risking their lives to save themselves.”
“On Monday night, reports suggested the dhussi bundh could collapse at any moment. Had it not been for the courage of the villagers, who filled sandbags with their own resources, the disaster would already be upon us. Punjabis today know the government will not save them—they have to save themselves,” he told reporters.
At the site, hundreds of residents, supported by nearby gurdwaras and religious bodies, continue to hold the line. Volunteers are working round-the-clock while langars (community kitchen) are being organised to provide food. Farmers say they urgently need diesel for tractors and trolleys, machinery and more sandbags to keep the bundh intact.
Badal handed over ₹3 lakh to the local sarpanch to purchase diesel and materials, and directed senior party worker Parmjit Singh Dhillon to coordinate relief. He also appealed to Punjab’s large industrial houses to come forward with assistance, saying, “It is a matter of life and death for these villages.”
Slamming both the state and the Centre, Badal said floods have devastated crops, flattened homes, and destroyed livelihoods, yet no meaningful help has arrived. “This is proof of total government failure. People are left to fend for themselves while politicians sit in air-conditioned offices,” he charged.
