The Gujarat district of Kheda is in the midst of agricultural losses after the sudden swelling of the Sabarmati River, which submerged the surrounding villages and destroyed crops being planted. The situation has been termed as devastating by the farmers, with most of them reporting that their entire harvest is destroyed in hours.
Massive precipitation in the upstream regions and discharge of accumulated water through dams contributed to an abrupt increase in the water level of the river on Thursday night. The flooding did not come as a surprise as the water flooded farmland, inundating cotton, paddy, groundnut and vegetable farms that were nearing harvest. The flood affected people in the villages because they claimed that it arrived without sufficient notice, and people had no time to rescue their harvest or farm machinery.
The fields were flooded by the time we knew what was going on. A year of toil is ruined in a single night. We have nothing left to do, said one of the farmers in an adjacent village, and it was the anguish of hundreds of others.
The rural exodus is huge, since a majority of the families in the area survive purely on the agricultural sector. On top of the damage to crops, livestock sheds, and irrigation systems have also been hit, making the economic burden more challenging. The sudden disaster has caused farmers to fear debt and uncertainty in the quest to cope with the new disaster.
Governments have started to evaluate the level of the losses. The revenue and agriculture department officers are going to visit the affected villages to compile reports that may be used to compensate. The district administration has assured to prolong relief programs, which include the provision of food grains, medical assistance, and the provision of temporary shelters to the displaced due to the flooding.
According to experts, the incident throws the repetitive issue of flood management in this area into the limelight. The Sabarmati can also supply life-sustaining irrigation, but the unexpected burst of surplus water can easily become a calamity to people living on its shores. To avoid future occurrences of such crises, farmers are now insisting on better planning, an early warning system and well-structured embankments.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel took charge of the issue and vowed that all that could be done to help the affected families. He also instructed authorities to hasten the aid efforts and to compensate for crop damage promptly in insurance and disaster relief programs.
To the farmers of Kheda, the marks of the sudden flood will last a long time. Having lost their harvests and their sources of income, they are waiting to be rescued in order to restore their lives.
