Punjab battles worst floods in decades; All 23 districts affected

The spirit of resilience, described as "Chardi Kala" in Punjab, comes to the fore as the northern state battles its worst floods in decades, with swathes of land in all its districts inundated.

In many parts of the state, people said the water level was five-six feet high, forcing them to sleep on rooftops. Some have even shifted their cattle to their roofs to protect them from the flood waters. People across Punjab, NGOs, Sikh organistations and celebrities such as Randeep Hooda, Sonu Sood and singer Diljit Dosanjh have been extending help to those affected. State minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said the flood waters have spread to all 23 districts, up from 12 earlier. Some 1,400 villages have been declared affected, impacting 3,54,626 people. Meanwhile, nearly 20,000 people have been evacuated from the flood-hit areas.

Tractors-trolleys, which were once the face of the farmers' protest in the national capital, have emerged as a lifeline for the flood-affected areas. Flood waters have submerged over 61,000 hectares of farmland and damaged over 2.32 lakh acres of paddy crops, according to officials.