1) Context & Snapshot

• Why in news: Punjab is facing one of its worst floods in recent years; the state has declared all 23 districts flood-hit.
• Human and farm impact (latest snapshot given):
  • 1,902 villages inundated
  • Over 3.8 lakh people affected
  • More than 11.7 lakh hectares of farmland damaged
  • At least 43 deaths reported
• District focus: Gurdaspur is the worst-hit—329 villages submerged, about 1.45 lakh people impacted, and nearly 40,000 hectares of farmland inundated.
• Why it matters: Punjab is the “Food Bowl of India.” Flood shocks here hit national food security, rural incomes, and supply chains.

2) Rivers & Geography (how Punjab’s setting shapes flood risk)

• River system: Punjab means “Land of Five Rivers.” After Partition, Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi remain in Indian Punjab (all part of the Indus system under the Indus Waters Treaty).
• Major rivers:
  • Sutlej: Longest in Punjab; Bhakra Dam near Nangal; meets Beas at Harike and later joins the Indus in Pakistan.
  • Beas: Pong (Maharana Pratap Sagar) Dam in Himachal Pradesh; flows into Punjab and meets Sutlej at Harike.
  • Ravi: Flows along the Indo-Pakistan border; Ranjit Sagar (Thein) Dam near Pathankot.
• Seasonal rivers and hill streams: Ghaggar and numerous choes (seasonal torrents from the Shivaliks) add sharp monsoon flows.
• Fertile plains: Rivers deposit rich alluvium—key to high wheat and rice output—but flat terrain and silted channels make water spread widely during high rainfall.

3) Why Floods Recur (joined-up diagnosis: nature, dams, governance, climate)

A) Natural–hydrologic drivers

• Intense monsoon bursts overwhelm embankments (dhussi bundhs).
• Siltation and encroachment shrink river capacity; floodplains used for farms or settlements reduce room for rivers to spread safely.
• Seasonal torrents from hills deliver sudden flows into low-lying plains.

B) Dams and operations

• Key reservoirs: Bhakra (Sutlej), Pong (Beas), and Ranjit Sagar (Ravi) are managed by the Bhakra Beas Management Board.
• Tight storage in peak monsoon: High water levels in July–August leave limited buffer for extreme rainfall.
• Operational shocks: Sudden releases or infrastructure failures can magnify flooding. Example cited: Madhopur barrage gate collapse (2025) that worsened floods in Pathankot and Gurdaspur.

C) Governance gaps

• Centre–state friction: Punjab alleges flood control gets lower priority than irrigation or power. Leadership changes at the board have reduced state say.
• State-level weaknesses: Poor embankment upkeep, illegal sand mining, slow warnings and evacuations, and weak inter-department coordination.

D) Climate stress

• Erratic, high-intensity rain events are rising. Existing dams and drains were not designed for today’s short-burst extremes.
• Warming and heat-drought-flood swings make water management harder across the year.

4) Impact Assessment (what gets hit and why it persists)

• Agriculture: Prolonged waterlogging damages paddy, fodder, and horticulture; silt and debris raise post-flood input costs (seed, repair, pumps).
• Livelihoods and health: Loss of livestock, unsafe water, vector-borne diseases, and disruption of mandi operations.
• Infrastructure: Flooded roads, culverts, and breached bunds sever market access and slow relief.
• Compounding risks:
  • Sand mining and encroachments lower riverbed stability and destroy natural buffers.
  • Channelised highways and rail embankments act like dams during heavy rain, trapping water.
  • Patchy early-warning reach and limited shelters stretch response capacity.

5) What Should Be Done Now (actionable, exam-friendly reforms)

A) Make flood management a core objective

• Give the Bhakra Beas Management Board a formal flood-control mandate alongside irrigation and power. Ensure Punjab’s representation in operating decisions during monsoon.

B) Operate reservoirs with real-time intelligence

• Use dynamic rule curves based on weather forecasts and inflow models to create buffer ahead of extreme spells. Standardise pre-release protocols, warning lead times, and downstream coordination.

C) Strengthen grey and green defences

• Repair and raise critical embankments; design fuse-plugs and spillways for safe overflow.
• Reconnect floodplains, protect wetlands, and revive natural drainage. Ban illegal sand mining; enforce no-build zones in high-risk belts.

D) Basin-wide planning and drills

• A Ravi–Beas–Sutlej basin plan across Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir for reservoir operations, silt management, and emergency routing.
• Community-level early-warning (sirens, IVRS, SMS in local language), ward-wise flood shelters, evacuation maps, and annual mock drills.

E) Climate-smart agriculture and recovery

• Promote short-duration varieties, staggered sowing, drainage channels on fields, and flood-resilient cropping in low-lying panchayats.
• Fast, transparent relief and insurance; credit support for pumps, seed, livestock restocking, and soil health restoration.

F) National framework for Integrated Flood Management

• A national law or protocol that sets forecast-to-release standards, data sharing, performance audits, and funding incentives for states that deliver risk-based zoning and enforcement.

6) Exam Toolkit (data bites + mains questions with brief hints)

Quick data to remember

• 23 districts declared flood-hit; 1,902 villages inundated; over 3.8 lakh people affected; at least 43 deaths.
• Farm loss: More than 11.7 lakh hectares damaged.
• District focus: Gurdaspur—329 villages submerged; about 1.45 lakh people impacted; ~40,000 hectares inundated.
• Key structures: Bhakra, Pong, Ranjit Sagar; failure at Madhopur barrage gate (2025) worsened downstream flooding.

Mains Q1 (150/250 words):
“Explain the hydrologic, infrastructural, and governance factors behind recurrent floods in Punjab. Suggest a basin-wide strategy to reduce losses.”
Hints: Rivers and choes, siltation and encroachments; reservoir operations and limited storage buffers; illegal sand mining; early-warning and evacuation gaps. Recommend dynamic rule curves, joint control rooms, floodplain restoration, embankment upgrades, and drills.

Mains Q2 (250 words):
“Discuss how climate change is altering flood risk in Punjab’s river basins. What reforms in dam operation, land use, and agriculture can build resilience?”
Hints: Short, intense rain spells; design limits of old dams; urban and rural waterlogging. Propose forecast-based releases, strict no-build flood zones, wetland revival, climate-smart cropping, and fast relief–insurance systems.

One-line wrap: To protect lives, farms, and the food bowl, Punjab must move from reaction to prevention—manage reservoirs with real-time intelligence, restore floodplains, and empower local bodies to act before the water rises.