For days, farmers in Punjab, India, watched the monsoon rains pour down and the rivers swell with growing dread. By Wednesday, many woke to find their worst fears had come true—the worst floods in over 30 years had swept through their farms, destroying their livelihoods.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of bright green rice fields, nearly ready for harvest, along with cotton and sugarcane crops, were ruined after being submerged under more than five feet of muddy floodwater. The bodies of drowned cattle lay scattered across the land.
“The crops are destroyed, and even our homes are at risk of collapsing,” said Parmpreet Singh, a 52-year-old farmer from Ajnala in Punjab’s Amritsar district. His family, including his elderly mother and two young children, had moved to their roof to escape the rising, murky water.
“My whole livelihood depends on my seven hectares of farmland, and it’s all gone,” he said, despairing that his only option might be to sell his land and give up farming. “I had already spent most of my money on seeds and fertilizer for the last crop. Now everything is lost.”
While monsoon season typically brings heavy rain, the extreme rainfall in northern India this week caused severe damage in Punjab. Flash floods and overflowing rivers submerged fields and villages. So far, 43 people have died, and nearly 2,000 villages have been affected, leaving hundreds of thousands without power or clean water. The smell of rotting animal carcasses hangs over many areas.
“This is the worst time Punjab has ever faced,” said Parminder Singh Pinki, a lawmaker from Firozpur, one of the hardest-hit districts. “I’ve never seen such devastation in my life. Entire farmlands are underwater, now covered in mud and sand.”
Indian farmers have already been struggling with high debt, low incomes, and repeated crop losses due to increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather driven by the climate crisis.
Pinki was among those who accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of neglecting farmers and leaving them to fend for themselves during this year’s severe monsoon. “The government knew about the weather forecasts for months and should have prepared proper measures and emergency responses,” he said. “But that didn’t happen, and this failure has led to massive destruction.”
Surinder Singh, a 75-year-old farmer from Patiala, shared similar concerns. For days, he had watched the nearby canal rise higher and higher, unable to do anything to stop it. “The government will promise relief, but farmers will end up with nothing,” he said. “In the end, we’re on our own.” Like many, he worried about the future of Indian agriculture, which employs half the country’s workforce and feeds the nation.
“I can’t imagine what’s left for our future generations,” he said. “Floods and extreme weather are becoming more common, and the future looks bleak. If Punjab’s farmers—the ones who feed India—can’t even support themselves, how will they feed anyone else?”
Governments in both India and Pakistan have faced criticism for their inadequate response as villages across the region remain underwater.The devastation from flooding has not been limited to India. In Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, also called Punjab, the impact has been even more severe, with nearly 2 million people evacuated and around 4,000 villages submerged.
The two countries share several major rivers, and India’s decision to release water from heavily filled upstream dams has worsened flooding on both sides of Punjab. This has led Pakistani officials to blame India for the disaster.
The overflowing Ravi River, which flows from India into Pakistan, was so powerful that it tore down 30 kilometers of iron fencing along the heavily militarized border last Friday. This forced Indian border security forces to abandon dozens of sensitive posts.
Maratab Ali Gondal, a farmer from Mandi Bahauddin in Pakistani Punjab, said rising waters from the Chenab River—which also originates in India—destroyed 90 acres of his rice and sugarcane crops, causing losses worth millions of rupees. He had spent months pleading with local officials to build protective embankments, but nothing was done. “The water washed away all my land. This isn’t India’s fault—it was the negligence of the Punjab government,” he said, adding, “This isn’t just my story. Farmers here are facing the worst time in the country’s history.”
The damage extended beyond farmland. In Lahore’s upscale Park View Society, a recently built residential area near the Ravi River, expensive homes were filled with murky floodwater. Experts pointed to rapid deforestation and development along riverbanks as factors increasing flood risks.
Umar, a resident who moved there this year, said his home was flooded with five feet of water. “Many of us invested our life savings to build our dream homes here,” he said. “How could they allow construction in such a flood-prone area?”
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Pakistani Punjab and niece of the prime minister, faced criticism for her limited response to the flooding. In a social media post, she highlighted the installation of portable toilets at a relief camp, but the photo she shared was later revealed to be from two years ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the devastating floods affecting Punjabi farmers designed to sound natural and provide clear direct answers
General Beginner Questions
1 What exactly happened in Punjab
A series of extremely heavy monsoon rains caused rivers to overflow leading to the worst flooding the region has seen in over 30 years
2 Which areas were hit the hardest
Districts like Rupnagar SAS Nagar Patiala Fatehgarh Sahib and parts of Jalandhar and Kapurthala were among the most severely affected
3 What does Everything is lost mean for a farmer
It means their standing crops are completely destroyed their stored grain and seeds are ruined their soil is eroded and their farm equipment and sometimes even their homes are damaged or washed away
4 What were they growing that was destroyed
The main crop at risk was paddy rice which was nearly ready for harvest Cotton vegetables and sugarcane farms were also severely damaged
5 How is the government helping
The government and disaster relief teams are conducting rescue operations providing food clean water and temporary shelter They have also announced financial compensation for crop losses and damage to homes
Impact Consequences
6 Beyond the crops whats the longterm damage
The floodwaters have washed away the nutrientrich topsoil leaving behind sand and silt This degrades the land making it less fertile for future seasons and requiring significant investment to restore
7 How does this affect food prices and supply
With a large portion of Punjabs rice crop destroyed there will be less supply This will likely lead to higher prices for rice and other food grains across India in the coming months
8 What about the farmers debts
Many farmers took loans for seeds fertilizer and equipment for this season With no harvest to sell they have no way to repay these debts pushing them deeper into financial crisis
9 Are there any health risks after the floods
Yes Stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes increasing the risk of diseases like malaria and dengue Contaminated water also spreads waterborne illnesses like cholera and typhoid
