Natural or a Manmade?

Overview

The Punjab government has already declared all 23 districts of the state as flood-hit, as heavy rainfall and swollen rivers continued to wreak havoc, leaving 30 people dead so far, and affecting more than 3.5 lakh residents. The severity of floods can be gauged from the fact that no district have escaped its wrath. The officials estimate that over 2,000 villages across Punjab have been hit by this year’s floods, the situation in the state’s border districts is worse. Of about 1,000 acres of the Sutlej riverbed area in village Kaluwala, Ferozepur District approximately 150 acres remain visible; the rest has been swallowed up as the river shifted its course. This tiny village which is surrounded by river Sutlej on three sides has international border fencing on the fourth side making it completely sandwiched. The plight of the people, animals, movable, and immovable properties, standing crops has been heart wrenching. The affected population had tragic memories of 1988 floods revived.

What is so strange is that Punjab has been one of earliest and had the best water management systems in place since 1693, when during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan first canal was built. Next, during Maharja Ranjit Singh’s reign further improvements were made to the canal systems. Then during the British Raj, an extensive network of canals were built from 1855 -1940. Finally, after the independence in 1947 and division of Punjab between India and Pakistan, a new wave water management projects were initiated on both sides of the new international borders. This extensive irrigation canal system which transformed the territory into the grain basket of the country lays in ruin today. With digital phones, the images and text messages the news travels faster than the media, making more people aware of the grim situation. Approximately 3.75 lakh acres of crop was damaged. Flood timing was especially harsh because transplanted paddies were maturing and when fields stay submerged for days, crops lodge or collapse.

How Floods Unfolded

A very heavy uninterrupted Monsoon rainfall spells in early August triggered the early deluge. In August, Punjab received 253.7 mm of rain, the highest the state has witnessed in the past 25 years. The dam managements were not prepared as they were anticipating a weak Monsoon. The intense rainfall filled the rivers, reservoirs and dams. The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) increased controlled discharges from the dams between August 20 and 28, 2025 as:

Dam Name     Water Discharged (Cusecs)

Bhakra             95,000
Pong                74,000
Ranjit Sagar    600,000

The Ranjit Sagar Dam on the Ravi river had reached close to its maximum capacity of 527 meters by the end of August. On August 26-27, over 600,000 cusecs of water were released from the dam. This massive inflow reached the Madhopur barrage, where old infrastructure and lack of maintenance worsened the situation as the floodgates there collapsed, which submerged the villages of Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Amritsar districts. Also, the Heavy rainfall caused surge in river flow at Harike Headworks. As of September 03, the inflow touched 346,000 cusecs prompting full gate opening.

The Ghaggar River, a rainfed system originating in the Shivalik foothills, is highly prone to flashflood, with a past history of breaches. Local tributaries and seasonal choes or streams (such as the Sirhind Choe in Ropar and Ludhiana, and the various basins in Doaba) also swelled beyond safe limits during the late August rainfall, inundating adjoining lowlands.

The Dhussi bandh was originally laid down in the 1950s on every perennial and even seasonal river of Punjab to protect the countryside areas close to the rivers. The objective of the Dhussi bandh on the Beas was to protect the downstream areas from the river’s unpredictable course. But, while the bandh protected several villages outside, around 30 villages inside the bandh, of which 16 fall on an island-type area and the remaining, along with the river inside the Dhussi bandh in Sultanpur Lodhi tehsil, remained exposed to backflow and inundation. Overall, it was a devastating picture for the whole state.

On September 09, 2025, fear again gripped the border villages situated along the Sutlej again following a rise in the water level on Tuesday, in fields that were already inundated. As per information, the downstream discharge from Harike Headworks stood at 92,000 cusecs on Tuesday, while Hussainiwala recorded 80,000 cusecs—almost double the normal flow of 40,000–45,000 cusecs. During the peak of the recent floods, this figure shot up to a staggering 3,00,000 cusecs.

Causes

The cause of floods will be the best job left to the experts and the inquiry commissions. But without waiting for their reports some obvious causes are shared as under:

• Interaction between climate stressors—such as glacial melt, erratic monsoon rainfall, and large scale deforestation.
• Unprecedented and concentrated monsoon rains this year 2025.
• Ill-timed water releases of excess water from the reservoirs without sufficient warnings to the population, only intensified the flood’s impact, trauma and damage. It addition they take the trust of people away from the government.
• Poor management or lack of management and maintenance of facilities.
• Severe silting in the water management facilities coupled with urbanization and encroachment by builders in flood zones without any concern for environmental impact studies or approvals.

Mitigation

Mitigation from the ravages of floods will be costly, time consuming and painful. Yet not doing it is not an option. It is not merely a problem of rehabilitation of the flood victims or their livelihood, but it means saving the nation’s granary. The role played by the NGO – India and based abroad, plus film personalities, music icons, athletes, entertainment world stalwarts have been commendable. Their efforts have galvanized the public opinion and helped bring focus to the sufferings. There will be post-mortem recommendations from the expert’s committees and commissions. Knowing from the history of how far these get implemented, it will be an open question. But some common sense suggestions are as under:

1. Better Warning Systems
There should be a better warning system so that the population can be warned of an impending disaster. During this year’s flooding, the common complaint was that we were not given adequate warning. Just by better managing the warning system the impact of floods can be lessened. Complaints could be heard that; “They (officials) came and informed us just half an hour before the water came. Tell me, how can a man save himself in half an hour?”

2. Desilting of Reservoirs 
While Punjab was battling one of its worst floods in decades, it came to light that the holding capacity of the Bhakra Dam, the second tallest in the world built upstream on the Sutlej, has been reduced by about 19 per cent in live storage since its inception in 1963. The primary reason, officials say, is that the dam’s reservoir has never been desilted all these years. It shows a glaring lack of upkeeping of the facilities. The modern dams are designed with features incorporated in design to enable periodical desilting. But no silting for its entire lifespan is a sad commentary on the state of affairs. The revelation came amid criticism of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for “failing to hold back water” in the Bhakra and Pong dams when heavy rain wreaked havoc across Punjab recently. If this is state of India’s largest and prestigious project, nothing much is left to said of other projects. So, when the gates are opened to release water we can either expect blockages or sand sludge being discharged, which will only worsen the situation.

3. Incorporate Desilting features in existing dams 
Desilting affected dams will reduce the likelihood of aquatic weeds and algal blooms, increase storage volume and prolong the life of the dam structure. So, it is imperative that such features be incorporated into the existing dam facilities. Dredging, pneumatic desilting, and sediment flushing are some of the commonly employed methods for desilting. But considering that large scale deforestation is taking place in the mountains from where the rivers originate results in increased silting. On top of that, not having desilting features is an invitation to disaster.

4. Human encroachment on the dry river land
The Dhussi Bundh is a classic example of human encroachments on the river land. During the flooding, the gauge at Dharmkot, meant to measure up to 4.63 lakh cusecs, became inaccessible days after August 26, as Ravi crossed more than double its capacity. Officials said this unprecedented pressure overwhelmed embankments. Such encroachments also obstruct the natural flow of water, raising its level further and causing it to spill over into villages and towns along the riverbanks, resulting in higher damage. The fate of houses, animals, farmland and properties were like sitting ducks to be swept away.

5. Embankment failures 
In 2023, around 100 breaches were reported across different rivers in Punjab. While 50 breaches were reported in Ghaggar river, the remaining were in Satluj, Beas, Ravi and their tributaries. In 2025, Ravi river unleashed its worst fury in Punjab, causing 42 of the 45 breaches reported in the state’s Dhussi bundhs (embankments), the highest ever in the river’s recorded history. When the embankments fail the repercussions on flood’s fury translates into an unbearable tragedy. Obviously, there should be a reassessment, reevaluation of these bundh’s strength against the higher flow rates being encountered now and it is going to get worse as time passes.

6. Unplanned Development along with lack of environmental impact studies
When project approvals and its sanctioning can be achieved through greasing of palms, the projects will get nod not on the basis of merit, but based on connections, grease applied to get the permits and relationships. Environmental concerns get thrown out of window to select the prime view location for the projects based on aesthetic appeal and photogenic background of hills or rivers. According to a report released on February 20, 2023, by the Cross Dependency Initiative, Punjab is among the top 50 regions in the world where climate change is expected to cause the maximum damage to human-made infrastructure. Keeping such international reports in mind, both state and central governments should weigh the developmental projects for sanctioning. This will not mitigate the damage already done but it can prevent the added impact of new projects. Simultaneously, the review of existing development projects need to be made to access their environmental impact. Some fancy projects already built with much political fanfare may provide a better ecological benefit if they are scrapped and returned back to nature.

Thus, the floods in Punjab are not just by natural disasters alone; these are tragedies exacerbated by human actions. These floods are a wakeup call for integrated governance, stronger regulatory stipulations and enforcement, and climate-resilient infrastructure to mitigate recurring cycles of loss and recovery. They are saying it loud and clear stop messing with mother nature. I will end this piece with words of Jane Goodall who just left this world:

“Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall all be saved.” — Jane Goodall

References:

1. Climate and Governance at Crossroads: Economic Lessons from Pakistan’s 2025 Flood Crisis. (2025). International Research Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(1), 202-217. https://doi.org/10.3456/4bybxh31
2. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/9/23/floods-devastate-indias-breadbasket-of-punjab
3. https://kbssidhu.substack.com/p/punjab-floods-and-the-need-for-an?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=539233&post_id=174593366&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=f2hk0&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
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6. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/natural-disasters/punjab-floods-2025-ground-report-the-government-may-be-missing-from-the-scene-but-people-have-stepped-in-to-fill-to-void
7. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/natural-disasters/punjab-is-a-land-of-rivers-but-the-floods-of-this-year-are-not-purely-natural-events
8. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/grave-injustice-rahul-gandhi-writes-to-pm-on-relief-package-for-punjab-9296451
9. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/entire-punjab-village-uprooted-after-beas-changes-course/
10. Bhaduri, Amita, FAQ on Punjab floods September 2025: What you need to know. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/faqs/faq-on-punjab-floods-september-2025-what-you-need-to-know
11. HT Correspondent. The Hindustan Times, September 21, 2025. Madhopur floodgates collapse: Randhawa writes to CM, calls for high-level probe. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/madhopur-floodgates-collapse-randhawa-writes-to-cm-calls-for-high-level-probe-101758483141071.html
12. Mohan, Lalit. The Tribune, September 06, 2025. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/no-desilting-ever-at-bhakra-capacity-down-19/
13. Chaba, Anju Agnihotri. The Indian Express, September 12, 2025. Of 45 breaches in dhussi bundhs, 42 alone in Ravi this monsoon. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjab-floods-ravi-river-dhussi-bundhs-rains-landslide-10243772/

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