Punjab: Tractor-trolleys turned into shelters
Manjit Singh, 54, Rara village said floodwaters not only destroyed his farmland but also left his house submerged under three feet of water.
Forced out of their homes due to flooding, many families in Hoshiarpur have turned tractor-trolleys into makeshift shelters, lined up along the Sri Hargobindpur road as they face heavy rains and the threat of their homes being washed away.
Manjit Singh, 54, Rara village said floodwaters not only destroyed his farmland but also left his house submerged under three feet of water. Camping with his family under tarpaulin sheets on tractor-trolleys parked near the Rara bridge, he said, “We managed to bring some clothes, two bags of wheat and a few essentials. Our cattle are also tied here with us.”
Expressing his fear of his mud house collapsing as water surrounds it from all sides, he said a nearby house has already caved in.
Similar distressing stories are unfolding in other locations as well, as about 40 to 45 families from Rara, Gandhowal and Fatta Kulla villages have also pitched themselves along the same road with nearly 250 cattle.
Most families chose to stay near their villages instead of moving to relief camps set up by the district administration to care for their homes and livestock.
In Kolian village, daily wager Gopal Masih (35) said his two-room ‘kutcha’ house was damaged, with one room having already collapsed and the other at risk.
Sarpanch’s husband David Masih noted that around 20 to 25 people have sought shelter at their home.
