Flood-Hit Jammu’s Pargwal Reels Under Devastation

Days after floodwaters swallowed their homes and fields, the villagers of Pargwal walk barefoot through sludge and rubble, searching not just for belongings but for pieces of memory in the mud-filled farmlands that stretch to the International Border.

- Press Trust of India

On Tuesday last, the Chenab river burst into their hamlet with a roar, breaking walls, carrying away animals and household items, and leaving behind a suffocating carpet of mud. The villagers were scattered across the fields, searching for whatever the river had not claimed.

Pargwal village, near Akhnoor, one of 27 border hamlets, is situated between the border with Pakistan and the mighty Chenab river.

For two days, floodwaters stood up to the first storey of houses, drowning shops, granaries and livestock.

Over 3,000 people were evacuated by rescue teams, but the damage remains everywhere. Broken walls lean dangerously, doors creak in mud, and fields -- once green with paddy -- now lie under thick layers of silt.

Subash Chander bent over in the muddy waters, his hands trembling, as he pulled out their only surviving old almirah half a kilometre from his house with the help of his brothers.