The devastating floods of 2025 in the Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab rivers inundated approximately 2.5 million acres of farmland in Punjab. In response to massive losses, the federal government has declared a climate and agriculture emergency, yet it remains unclear what practical measures will follow under this cover.

Whatever course the authorities eventually adopt, two interventions are indispensable alongside immediate relief efforts: first, to rehabilitate the flood-affected lands for cultivation; and second, to mitigate the risk of another flood next year, when rainfall is forecast to be even higher in 2026 — implying an even greater disaster.

On TV talk shows, a divisive debate continues over whether the inundated fields will be left buried under coarse sand or enriched with a fertile layer of silt once the waters recede. In reality, both processes occur simultaneously.

During floods, when a river spills out of its bed and spreads across the floodplain, it erodes fertile topsoil from slightly elevated lands and deposits this farther into the floodplain. The eroded lands, in contrast, are stripped of their topsoil and left exposed with underlying sand.

Unchecked construction that create choke points during floods must be banned lest an even greater disaster occur in 2026 when rainfall is forecast to be even higher

Moreover, as water velocity decreases across the broad floodplain, suspended sediments settle: coarser material (fine sand and coarse silt) is deposited........

© Dawn Business