Year 2025: Punjab braved worst floods in decades; many youths deported from US

Chandigarh: Catastrophic floods killing more than 50 people and causing widespread damage to crops, eviction of protesting farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri border points, and an alleged assault on a colonel by Punjab Police personnel marked the year 2025.

The year also saw many Indians, especially youths from Punjab, being deported from the US, handcuffed and shackled in US military aircraft that landed at Amritsar airport, following a crackdown by the Trump administration against illegal immigrants.

The deportation also put a ‘donkey route’ – an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter the US, into the spotlight with youths from Punjab not hesitating in risking their lives to fulfil their “American dream”.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party faced flak over the law and order situation in the state as extortion threats, several incidents of firing at business premises and shops by criminals and gangsters, and grenade attacks on police stations became the order of the day.

In March, the Punjab Police evicted protesting farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri border points, thus paving the way for resumption of road traffic on the Shambhu-Ambala highway and the Sangrur-Jind highway, which remained closed for more than a year.

After the Indian armed forces under Operation Sindoor carried out missile strikes on May 7 on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Punjab’s border districts went into an alert mode. The operation was launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

On the political front, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP scored victories in the two crucial Ludhiana West and Tarn Taran assembly bypolls and later zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections, ahead of the assembly polls due in 2027.

Congress leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu triggered a political row with her “Rs 500 crore for chief minister's chair” remark, leading to her suspension from the party. She said her husband and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu will return to active politics if the Congress declares him as the party's chief ministerial face in Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on June 25 in a disproportionate assets case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money".

Majithia, however, called the DA case against him “political witch-hunting and vendetta” for being a vocal critic of the current dispensation.

The arrest of high ranking Punjab Police officer --Deputy Inspector General Harcharan Singh Bhullar by the CBI in a corruption case hogged the limelight in October.

The CBI sleuths recovered around Rs 7.50 crore cash, 2.50 kg gold jewellery, documents of over 50 immovable properties, keys of two luxury vehicles, 26 luxury watches, among other items during raid operation.

In August and September, Punjab faced its worst floods since 1988 with the most-affected districts being Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Tarn Taran.

The state government worked out damages to the tune of Rs 13,500 crore including crop loses, damages to over 30,000 houses, roads and other state infrastructure.

In September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the flood situation in Punjab, and announced a financial assistance of Rs 1,600 crore for flood-hit state in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already in the state's kitty.

The AAP government in September called a special session of Punjab Assembly in which a resolution, condemning the “lack of response and the failure” of the BJP-led Centre to sanction a special financial package for the flood-hit Punjab, was passed.

The Punjab BJP, however, targeted the AAP dispensation, saying that the state government has Rs 12,000 crore of State Disaster Response Fund and even then the Mann government claimed they do not have funds for relief measures.

On Rs 1,600 crore of flood-relief, the Centre said a sum of Rs 480 crore had been released to the state, adding that funds were being released continuously and there was no dearth of funds for Punjab.

In November, several political leaders from the ruling AAP, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and farmer bodies extended their support to students’ protest against the Centre’s decision to restructure Panjab University's governing bodies -- Senate and Syndicate and demanded announcement of senate poll schedule.

The Union government later withdrew its move to restructure the varsity’s governing bodies and the vice president, who is the chancellor of the PU, approved the schedule of its senate election.

Earlier in April, a row erupted after the Punjab government refused the release of more water to Haryana from the Bhakra dam, stating that the neighbouring state has already utilised its share. Later, the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In February, illegal Indian immigrants including from Punjab returned in three batches in US military aircraft that landed at Amritsar. Their return highlighted how their dreams for a better future in America shattered, leaving them and their families under a pile of debt.

In March, a colonel and his son were allegedly assaulted by 12 Punjab Police personnel over a parking dispute in Patiala. The matter grabbed media attention with the colonel’s family demanding justice in the matter.

In July, world's oldest marathoner Fauja Singh (114) died after being hit by an SUV in Jalandhar, while in May, veteran Akali leader and former Union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (89) passed away.

Renowned Punjabi actor Jaswinder Bhalla (65) died following brain haemorrhage in August. Another Punjabi actor-singer Rajvir Jawanda (35) died in October after he was seriously injured in a road accident in Himachal Pradesh.

The death of Bollywood actor Dharmendra in November drew an outpouring of grief from his native village in Ludhiana district.

A hooch tragedy in Amritsar in May claimed over 20 lives.