"Punjab Is Strong": Harbhajan Singh's Message Of Resilience From Flood-Hit Punjab

Punjab is strong and will overcome this tough situation, said former cricketer and AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh in a message of resilience, as he appealed through NDTV to help the Punjabis struggling against a dire flood situation.

"It's a very sad situation for all of us living in Punjab, and for the whole nation. It's extremely painful to see the villages being thrashed. There's a lot of water. The least you can do is just go out there and try to be a helping hand. It is a very, very tough situation, a very difficult one, but Punjab is strong. We'll come out of it like we have always," he said.

He painted a very grim image of the state from his last visit. A week ago, Mr Singh said there was 10-15 feet of water, with people having lost their houses and cattle to the flood.

Read: 30 Killed, 3.5 Lakh Affected: Flood-Hit Punjab Shuts Educational Institutions Till September 7

The challenge is quite big, and resources are limited, he agreed. "It's going to take a lot of time because there is a lot of water on the road, about two lakh metric tonnes of water in the villages. It's going to be a big, big challenge," he said.

But Punjab is strong enough to battle this. "Punjabis are strong, our nation is strong. We are all standing together. We'll fight together and come out of it," he added.

A lot of organisations, especially private ones and Sikh foundations, are trying to help those impacted, said the former spinner. The ex-cricketer said he and his friends have also been trying to contribute to the flood rescue by arranging boards.

"The Punjab government has been doing their work. Now, the Army has also been deployed to rescue people. Every authority, everyone at this stage in Punjab, they're trying to help each other to ensure we come out of this crisis and not lose too many lives there," he added.

Read: "Punjab's Money For Punjabis": Raghav Chadha Sends Rs 3.25 crore For Flood-Hit Villages

Punjab being an agrarian state, farmers are among the worst-affected. The flood has submerged over 61,000 hectares of farmland, damaging over 2.32 lakh acres of paddy crops. Farmers have lost homes, cattle, farms, and crops, said Mr Singh, noting it has been 15 days, but the water hasn't gone down yet.

"The farmers have been our strength of this country. And they are suffering. They didn't want to leave the house. They thought the water level would go down at some point, but it has been increasing. It was so painful to see them leave their land. We had to request them to leave because otherwise there could be many, many casualties because the water levels had gone up," he said.

He also urged people to help the people of Punjab with whatever they could: shelters, blankets, medicines, etc.

"I want to request each and every Indian to stand with Punjab and Punjabis at this stage because Punjab stands with everyone. Whenever you need, Punjabis will be there to support and help. Now it's time for all of you to stand with Punjab and do whatever little you can to make sure those affected people are getting some relief," he said.

Punjab is witnessing its worst floods in decades, with the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers overflowing in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. All 23 districts of the state have been declared flood-hit, while at least 30 people have died and 3.5 lakh people are affected.