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Punjab island isolated by the River Satluj
by Ravi Khandelwal

     Ferozepur: The border with Pakistan in Punjab often throws up strange ironies and strange fates for the people in the area. One such unique irony is that of an island that is virtually isolated from the mainland by the River Satluj, leaving the residents here to live a life that is both distant and bleak. A fishermen's paradise, the waters of the Satluj create havoc for locals when in spate. The longest of the five rivers that flow through East Punjab , the Satluj meanders uniquely when it reaches Ferozepur in southern Punjab.

    In 1988, when the river swelled, it changed course and split into two near Kasso, a Border Security Force post, and then rejoined at Chandiwala village. Between the two rivers, a five-mile route creates an island that has been cut off from the mainland. In between, are two isolated villages- Nihalewala and Kaluwala, which are also restricted by the Pakistan border? To this day, a manually managed boat remains the only way to cross the river, a bridge being a distant dream. There's just one boat to ferry civilians across, and even that is suspended when the weather turns turbulent. The villagers say they have borrowed it by spending 1,100 US dollars and have appointed an oarsman. "Each household gives one quintal of wheat each year to the oarsman. There are a total of 50 houses, which have jointly paid to buy the boat, " says Desh Raj, a villager. The island's 1,000-strong population cultivates hundreds of acres of land. These areas are as good as orphaned, as the villagers are left to fend for themselves in spite of the land falling under the jurisdiction of Ferozepore District. Most of the villagers are uneducated, and literally have no hope of improving their standards of living. The males of the village work the fields with outdated agricultural techniques, as they know nothing else. "There is no doctor, no dispensary. Our births and deaths take place in the boat. Recently, we had two deaths due to negligence and for the lack of a bridge. This is a non-descript area where there is no provisional store to buy daily necessities. If we have to arrange for the marriage of a girl, the guests have to come by boat. For arrangements like tents and food, we have to take the help of the boat to transit the goods. There is no other way," says Swaran Singh, another villager. The villagers believe it is God's will, and at six monthly intervals, the farmers hold a 'Degh', or cook sweetened rice in a huge utensil at one of the farms and offer prayers to the 'Khwaja Peer', locally known as the `Peer Pani Wala'.

    It is all done to save their crops from the swirling river waters. Family members take some rice as 'prasad' and reach the shores of the river to offer it to the River Goddess. It is all they can do to save their hard earnings. Thereafter, their children enjoy the delicious 'prasad' blissfully unaware about their future. "We offer prayers so to save our crops from the river water. Floods destroy our houses and our crops. We have to walk out to a safer place," says Joga Singh, a farmer. Daily existence takes a colour of its own, sans external influence. On both sides, near isolation exists. This can be termed a hell of sorts, given that Pakistan is close by.
-Jan 14,  2007

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