The newly formed Akali Dal faction is now asserting that it is the ‘real’ Akali Dal and will soon stake claim over the party headquarters and election symbol. A prolonged battle between the two factions is likely to play out in the Election Commission of India and courtrooms.

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Dams, canals and the politics of water

Punjab receives a fair amount of rainfall, but never the kind that might, by itself, trigger largescale disasters. The state is spared flash floods, cyclonic downpours and the kind of relentless torrential rain seen elsewhere. Yet, year after year, vast swathes of Punjab are under water.

One reason lies in the rivers, streams and seasonal channels that descend from the hills of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Their waters often flood villages far from the main rivers, travelling through irrigation canals that were never designed for such overflow.

A bigger cause is the sudden release of water from the Ranjit Sagar, Bhakra, Pong and several smaller dams. When these reservoirs, swollen by the monsoon, are drained abruptly, towns and villages downstream are inundated.

The current season is no exception. Villages in nearly every district are waterlogged. According to The Tribune, the village of Udekaran in Muktsar has been submerged for over a month, its paddy crop wiped out and daily life thrown into chaos. Many other villages share the same fate.

The cycle repeats almost every monsoon. Yet Punjab still lacks a robust, coordinated water management system. Experts point to possible solutions — from integrated basin management for all major rivers, to deepening and widening river beds so they can hold more water. But Haryana has consistently resisted such measures, arguing that floods last only two months, after which deeper rivers would retain most of the water in Punjab, leaving little for its downstream neighbour.