With massive deposits of silt and sand spread across farmlands near multiple breach sites along the Ravi, from Ramdas to Ajnala, hundreds of tractors are busy clearing fields to make them cultivable again.

Most farmers, lacking adequate machinery to remove the heavy silt, are depending on community service and collective effort. “We are helping each other with tractors and machines. The damage is too vast for individual farmers to handle,” said Harjit Singh, a farmer, at Gurchak village.

Some cultivators have managed to earn a small income by selling the sand deposited in their fields. They are charging between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 per large trolley. “We call it our ‘royalty’. There is too much sand for us to use, so anyone who wants it, can take it for Rs 3,000 per trolley,” said G

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