Pune, 12 September 2025: Citizens throughout the city are intensifying their efforts to provide assistance to Punjab, which is experiencing its most severe flooding in almost 40 years. The floods, caused by the overflowing Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers along with seasonal streams due to heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, have resulted in submerged villages, destroyed crops, and displaced families.
Over 50 people have died, and nearly 390,000 individuals in 2,185 villages have been impacted. The Poona Camp Sikh Association, in collaboration with all gurdwaras in the city, has collected and dispatched Rs 21 lakh in funds, along with relief materials valued at Rs 35 lakh, through the Punjab-based NGO Akaal Purakh Ki Fauz. The relief items include milk powder, medicines, sanitary napkins, and other essentials.
Surender Singh Dhupar, a trustee at Gurdwara Gurunanak Darbar in Camp, mentioned that they sent a 32ft container with skimmed milk powder, sanitary pads, torches with mobile charging, and medicines worth Rs 10 lakh on Wednesday.
Col Dr Panduman Singh, a trustee of Akaal Purakh Ki Fauz, stated that the organization had received relief materials from gurdwaras nationwide, including those in Belagavi, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, and Bhopal. The aid will be distributed in two districts of Punjab, Amritsar and Gurdaspur, covering areas such as Binanagar near Galrhi, Kalanaur, Dera Baba Nanak near Ajnala, and Ramdass.
In Kondhwa, a group of residents has set up a stall near Jyoti Chowk to collect donations and send them via Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha in Ganesh Peth. Smaller initiatives are also emerging across the city, with many individuals raising funds to send to Punjab.
Along the banks of the Ravi River, nearly 10 villages are completely isolated, and about 90,000 people are living under these conditions. The needs will continue to change as the water levels recede.
