Rajya Sabha member and environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal said that to get relief from floods, we must move closer to nature and leave floodplains for the rivers. Having personally stood with flood-affected people for the past 29 days, Sant Seechewal emphasized that we must plan our crops while keeping in mind the global climate changes.
To face the challenges posed by climate change, society will have to be prepared. He said that the development model being promoted has caused devastation, destroying forests and mountains. Sant Seechewal explained that the reason civilizations settled along rivers was that rivers brought fertile soil, which benefited agriculture.
But since humans began interfering with nature, they have increasingly invited trouble. It is worth noting that Punjab has about 900 km of earthen embankments along the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and Ghaggar rivers. These include 226 km along the Sutlej, 164 km along the Ravi, 104 km along the Beas, and nearly 100 km along the Ghaggar.
In addition, there are about 300 km of temporary embankments around smaller rivers and streams. These embankments were built in the 1950s and 60s, but this year’s floods have broken all previous water records.
Sant Seechewal suggested that to strengthen these embankments, permanent roads should be built on them and trees planted along the way. He further added that the simplest way to prevent floods is to plant at least five trees in every field or at each tubewell.
Punjab has about 1.4 million tubewells, and if five trees are planted at each, it would result in an increase of 7 million trees. These trees would help reduce floods and also ensure timely rainfall.