CHANDIGARH: As Punjab is grappling with unprecedented riverine flooding leading to the loss of 56 precious lives, inundation of 2, 300 plus villages, loss of property, livelihoods and infrastructure worth a whopping Rs 13, 800 crore, it’s the indomitable attitude of the young people that keeps alive the spirit of 'sewa' and 'Chardi Kala (resilience)', to fight it out despite the most challenging times in four decades and to rebuild the state together.
A notable trend has come to the fore that the youth of Punjab, who has been branded as "idle" and "druggy" in the past, is now turning out to be the saviour of the people.
Young men and women are fulfilling their humanitarian duties by reaching out to marooned villagers with daily utilities and strengthening river embankments to prevent further flooding of fields and human habitations.
As water levels are finally starting to recede after weeks, displaced families have begun returning home to find their houses, crops and livelihoods almost wiped out, even as the Punjab government promised to compensate all victims.
Now rural communities, led by celebrities, influencers, and community and faith leaders, are seen in transformative roles with focus on reconstruction of homes, schools, and health facilities, besides strengthening embankments and drainage to prevent a deluge.
Flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains and water from swollen rivers since August has inundated large parts of Punjab, the country’s food basket, where over 2 million people have been impacted and five lakh acres of crops destroyed after the release of water from upstream dams, leading to rivers bursting their banks.
Octogenarian Vijay Khanna, a doctor based in Zira, a rural town in Ferozepur, one of the worst ravaged districts, told IANS over phone that youngsters in almost every village have been assigned duties to carry out rehabilitation work in flood-prone areas.
The work ranges from strengthening the river embankments, to setting up flood-preparedness committees to mobilise resources and to clearing silt and muck left behind by the floodwater from houses, streets and fields.
“Every youngster, who has been assigned a duty, has been using his or her tractor-trailer through community networks to do community work, ” he said.