Sultanpur Lodhi, October 20: What should have been a night of lamps and laughter is instead a quiet evening of longing in Sultanpur Lodhi’s flood-ravaged villages. Two months after the Beas river overflowed and swallowed homes, hundreds of families remain displaced, their Diwali stripped of sparkle.
In Rampur Gaura village — among the worst-hit in the low-lying Mand belt — nine of the twelve homes were flattened. “One can’t celebrate Diwali at others’ home,” said 34-year-old farmer Gurnishan Singh, who now lives with his wife and two daughters in a small house lent by villagers in Nabipur. His parents and brother stay separately in Saruwal, also in temporary accommodation.
Gurnishan said his new home is being built at Passan Kadim, but it may take months before completion. “Our crops on nine acres were washed away. There’s no income left,” he said.
Many families say the ₹1.20 lakh government compensation for damaged houses is yet to reach them. Volunteers and local residents have been extending help, with seven families allotted plots for rebuilding, but recovery has been painfully slow.
“Another house in Rampur Gaura is about to collapse,” said Paramjit Singh, who is leading relief efforts. “Despite continuous work, we haven’t been able to plug the river breach completely.”
As darkness falls on the battered villages, the clay lamps flicker faintly — reminders of resilience amid ruin. For Sultanpur Lodhi’s flood victims, Diwali this year is not about celebration, but survival.
