Recently, more than 50 Dhussi bandhs have been breached in Gurdaspur and Amritsar during the Punjab floods this monsoon.
What are dhussi bandhs?
Dhussi bandhs – They are earthen flood-protection embankments, primarily constructed along the rivers of Punjab, India.
Built during – Built mainly in the 1950s and 1960s.
Role – These embankments protect villages and agricultural land from flooding during the monsoon season.
Location – The embankments are built along major rivers like the Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas, as well as tributaries and seasonal rivulets known as "choes" and streams.
According to the Water Resources Department, Sutlej has bandhs of around 226 km in length, Ravi 164 km, Beas 104 km, and Ghaggar around 100 km, with some 300 km of bandhs along tributaries, choes, and creeks.
The total length of these bandhs across Punjab is approximately 900 km.
Construction – They are mostly "kutcha," or earthen, with some sections having metalled or unmetalled roads on top used by local villagers.
Design – The height of the bandhs can vary, ranging from 5–6 feet in some areas to 10–15 feet above the river's normal level in others, depending on the terrain.
They typically have a width of 10–15 feet at the top.
What are the importance of dhussi bandhs?
Acts as protective barriers – Since the 1950s-60s, when these bandhs were first constructed, these embankments have acted as protective barriers against floods.
Before the construction of these bandhs, rivers flowed unchecked and often flooded nearby fields and homes during the monsoon.
Increases the capacity of rivers – It reduces the direct impact of overflowing rivers and allowing rivers to carry more water during heavy rains.
Acts as protective shelters – During river surges, many families shift to the embankments, as they see these as the safest ground to escape the deluge.
What are the current challenges faced by dhussi bandhs?
Weak constructions – Weak, poorly built embankments frequently collapse under pressure.
During heavy monsoons, these embankments are prone to breaches, which can cause severe flooding in surrounding villages and destroy agricultural crops.
For instance, Punjab has witnessed more than a half dozen major floods in 1978, 1988, 1993, 2008, 2019, 2023 and now 2025 mainly due to breaches in these bandhs.
Illegal mining – Sand and gravel extraction along river beds has progressively eroded the base of embankments, loosening soil and weakening structures.
Unchecked mining close to rivers reduces makes bandhs prone to caving in during high water flow.
Inadequate coverage – Several stretches of the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and Ghaggar still lack embankments.
Enlarged settlements – permanent human settlement on bandhs makes routine maintenance difficult.
Inadequate repair – In 2025, it was reported that Punjab needed hundreds of crores of rupees to repair and strengthen these bandhs.
What can be done?
Increasing the height – Experts say that to minimise flood risk, embankments must be raised to at least 15-20 feet above the riverbed.
Strengthening – Weak points to be reinforced and their foundations should be widened.
Regular monitoring – There should be a periodical monitoring of the bundhs to look for any cracks, breaks etc.
Contruction of new bundhs – The new bundhs should be constructed near the areas with potential flooding and more human settlements.
Smaller choes, nadies, and khads also need such bandhs.
Choes,nadies and khads are local names for seasonal streams in the Punjab region.
Regulating river bed – It is important to mitigate flooding, maintain groundwater recharge, protect river ecosystems and biodiversity, and enable human uses like transportation and irrigation.
