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Flood-hit villages in Jalandhar need only bottled water

JALANDHAR: Flood-hit people in Jalandhar district might now require only drinking water for the next few weeks as groundwater is still contaminated in the region and they have enough quantity of remaining necessities.


In the past few days, people who came with relief material could not find any genuine demand.

They came across those who wanted to hoard extra material and sell it. Some groups had to return without distributing all the material. “We came on a tractor-trailer loaded with wheat bags, some wheat flour and pulses. However, before taking the material inside flood-hit areas, we went to villages to get an idea of areas we should distribute material. People told us they had enough ration for next few months and there was no need for distributing these. At the same time, we also learnt that we might also come across people who did not need rations, but they would sell these further,” said Lakhwinder Singh, who and six others had come from Mandi Kalan village of Bathinda on September 13 and the next day.

“Looking at the situation, we left the wheat and other material with Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal’s dera, so that these could be later used in langar as our villagers had contributed the material for sewa. We realize people here now need good quality wheat seeds, fertilizers and bottled water,” he said.

A group from Muktsar district distributed cash in place of relief material. “We had come around a fortnight ago. We distributed cash among households, so that people could use it according to their needs,” said Gurmeet Singh of Gurusar village near Gidderbaha.

He said their group came across another group from Ludhiana district which preferred to take the relief material back after facing the situation in which hoarders were ready to pick up a fight for taking away the material. “That group from Ludhiana said it was feeling dejected at the behaviour of some people in the area, as they did not need anything and were contented with what they already had,” he said.

“We could not distribute all the kits which included material like mosquito nets, mosquito repellents, antiseptic creams and coconut oil among other things, when we went to a few villages, including Maraajwala, Jaania Chahal, Dhakka Basti, Lakhe Dian Chhanan and Gatta Mandi Kaasu. on September 8 as most residents said they had enough of these and did not want any more,” said Sukhdev Singh of Sikhs For Equality. “People would need help for the next sowing season or those who have lost their cattle,” he added.

Parminder Singh of Naseerpur village said the only consumable people would still require for at least a few weeks would be bottled water. “On Sunday, a group from Mohali came and distributed bottled water,” he said.

Jalandhar deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma also said relief material was not required in the area as it had reached there in abundance and they were also sending water tanks. “We had arranged enough material from government coffers but people from across the state also flooded it in the affected area,” he said. “People would need help in case of loss of cattle, during next sowing season or repair of their houses in cases of damage,” he added.

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