PUNJAB is facing one of the worst floods in recent decades. While all 23 districts have been affected, the situation is most severe in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, and Hoshiarpur. According to recent reports, the 2025 floods in Punjab are being described as the worst since 1988, causing large-scale devastation.
Approximately 1.62 lakh hectares (around 4 lakh acres) of agricultural land have been submerged, severely damaging crops such as paddy, maize, cotton, and vegetables. Gurdaspur alone accounts for over 100,000 acres of crop damage.
At least 43 people have died due to the floods. The highest casualties were reported in Hoshiarpur (7), Pathankot (6), Amritsar and Barnala (5 each), Ludhiana and Bathinda (4 each), Mansa (3), Gurdaspur and Mohali (2 each), and Patiala, Rupnagar, Sangrur, and Fazilka (1 each). Other districts such as Patiala, Bathinda, Sangrur, and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar also reported casualties. In addition, three people remain missing in Pathankot.
Over 1,655 villages across all 23 districts of Punjab have been impacted, with Gurdaspur being the worst-hit (324 villages), followed by Amritsar (135 villages) and Hoshiarpur (119 villages). More than 4 lakh people have been affected across the state. Gurdaspur alone accounts for 1.45 lakh affected people, followed by Amritsar with 35,000, and Ferozepur with several thousand.
In addition to agricultural losses, the floods have caused severe damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and over 110 km of the India-Pakistan border fence. The full extent of livestock and property losses is still being assessed as floodwaters have not fully receded in many areas. The disaster has been driven by heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers – particularly the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and Ghaggar – due to excessive rain in Punjab and neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Relief efforts are ongoing. More than 20,000 people have been evacuated, and 129 relief camps are operational across the state. These efforts are being supported by the NDRF, Army, BSF, and other agencies.
The general public has played a crucial role in rescue operations during the Punjab floods. Ordinary citizens – especially youth, farmers, and local volunteers – were often the first responders in affected villages. They used tractors, trolleys, boats, and makeshift rafts to evacuate stranded families, children, and the elderly. Community groups arranged food, drinking water, and shelter in schools, gurdwaras, and community halls. Social media and local networks were leveraged to coordinate relief materials such as medicines, clothes, and fodder for cattle. In many places, people pooled resources to repair embankments temporarily and guided official rescue teams to inaccessible areas. Their solidarity and timely action significantly reduced casualties and suffering before state and central agencies could fully mobilise.
While official narratives present the catastrophe as an outcome of heavy monsoon rains, a deeper examination reveals a more disturbing truth. These floods are not merely natural but the result of systemic negligence, environmental destruction, and the capitalist state’s misplaced priorities. For the working people of Punjab – farmers, labourers, and the rural poor – this is yet another assault on their livelihoods and dignity.
Sudden discharges from the Bhakra, Pong, and Ranjit Sagar dams without proper coordination turned rivers into raging torrents. The Supreme Court itself has highlighted the illegal felling of trees in Punjab and adjoining regions, which has worsened floods and landslides. Embankments, canals, and drainage systems remain outdated and poorly maintained due to decades of state apathy.
Erratic monsoon patterns, driven by global warming, are intensifying extreme weather events. Yet, governments continue to ignore scientific warnings. Peasant families face crop destruction at a time when debt and falling incomes already push them toward desperation. Compensation announced by the state is grossly inadequate. Agricultural labourers and rural workers have lost both wages and shelter, as inundated fields have wiped out daily earnings overnight. Women and children in relief camps suffer from poor sanitation, lack of healthcare, and food insecurity.
Neighbourhoods in cities like Ludhiana and Jalandhar also faced flooding, exposing the vulnerability of urban areas. While Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has appealed for Rs 60,000 crore in pending central funds and demanded Rs 50,000 per acre as compensation, the response of both state and central governments remains inadequate. Relief camps are overcrowded across affected areas.
The centre seeks to wash its hands of responsibility, while corporate media downplays the structural causes and presents the floods as an unavoidable natural tragedy.
The CPI(M) Punjab has directed its units at all levels to extend full support to the affected people. The Party has instructed them to organise camps in affected areas and to prepare for the collection and distribution of relief material from other states. Following the directions of the Central Committee, adjoining states are also collecting relief material for Punjab’s flood-affected population. It has been decided to circulate the mobile numbers of comrades managing the camps, along with district secretaries, state committee members in the affected areas, and the state secretary, for easy communication and coordination.
