Fazilka is located about 325 kms west of Chandigarh, and 200 km south of Amritsar in southern Punjab. This town is also popularly known as Bangla, which carries a history of 160 years. Fazilka is on India -Pakistan border and well connected with major cities of India by rail and road. The living environment of Fazilka is very attractive. It is one of the rice growing cities in India and cotton rich belt of the Punjab. Many rice factories are here and this place is famous for good quality rice. It is one of the main cities, which exports rice. Fazilka is also a main exporter of wool and hand made famous Punjabi Jutti and exclusive sweets of the city "Tosha" is famous worldwide.
This small town near radcliff line was affected by the divertion of Sutlej water in Punjab to the Thar desert. The town situated along the banks of the freshwater horseshoe lake Badha has been receiving snow water as recharge from Sutlej. But the diversion has made the lake fluoride-ridden, with an increase in the total dissolved solids in groundwater. Birds from Siberia would come to this lake earlier. Fazilka, which was once a breeding ground for fish,became a dry place today. We see encroachments on the riverbanks and the mafia sell the sand under the riverbed. And with the Sutlej truncated at Suleimanki Head Works by the Water Commission of the government of India, there"s little hope for the people of Fazilka. Maybe a channel routed from the Bhakra main canal to the existing network of channels in South Punjab can fill the Badha lake with water every season.
