Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday blamed both the Centre and the Punjab government for the large-scale destruction caused by recent floods, calling it a “man-made disaster, not destiny.”
In his first statement on the issue, Sidhu said the crisis could have been avoided with proper management of Punjab’s rivers, better planning, and timely action.
“The five rivers of Punjab, once a boon, have become a curse through sustained mismanagement,” he said. He pointed to illegal sand mining, heavy siltation, and poor handling of dams and reservoirs as the main reasons behind the flooding.
Sidhu said unchecked mining had weakened embankments, making breaches and flooding more likely. He pointed to reports indicating that silt build-up in rivers and reservoirs had reduced their capacity to carry water, but the government failed to act.
He also criticised the Bhakra-Beas Management Board for not lowering reservoir levels before the monsoon and for not releasing water in a planned way. According to him, this worsened the floods downstream.
Sidhu said flood management guidelines like early warnings, floodplain mapping, and dam coordination were either ignored or poorly implemented.
He also raised three key questions for the state and Central governments: Why were weak embankments—compromised by illegal mining—left unaddressed? Why is there no long-term, funded sediment management plan for Punjab’s rivers? “While politicians continue to feed their greed, Punjab continues to suffer,” Sidhu said.
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