Union Home Ministry has finally conceded to Punjab Government’s request of including the State in review of flood situation by the Central team.
A central team will soon visit Punjab to assess the damage and loss due to floods in the state. “The Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has informed that a Central team, to assess damage on account of floods, would also be sent to Punjab, along with 11 other flood ravaged states,” said a government spokesperson on Sunday.
Earlier, the BJP-led Central Government had virtually ignored this border state while initiating steps to assist the other flood-hit states.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had, in its meeting on August 21, decided to immediately constitute and depute the Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala affected by recent floods, while keeping Punjab out of the same.
Notably, the State Government had estimated the initial loss by the floods in some parts of state at Rs 1,700 crore, including an estimated crop loss of Rs 750 crore.
Extending gratitude towards the Central Government for including Punjab in the list of visits which have to be conducted by the Inter Ministerial Central Team (IMTC) of the Union Government, Punjab Civil Supplies and Consumers’ Affairs Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Sunday said that the pressure exerted by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on the Union Government has forced it to include Punjab in the list.
At the same time, Ashu urged the Union Government to give equal importance to Punjab at par with other states which have been badly affected by the floods.
Ashu demanded that Central Government must give adequate relief to the state of Punjab to mitigate the agony of the flood affected people.He expressed surprise over the fact that Punjab has been hit hard by the torrential rains which caused havoc and most of the Punjab was inundated by the flood waters but the Union Government didn’t take the situation of Punjab seriously.
“Flood has derailed the normal life in Punjab and enormous damage to the life and property has been caused.
As many 10,000 people of 87 villages have been directly affected by the floods as these are completely submerged by the flood water whereas 20 other villages have also lost connect with other villages due to water stagnation,” he said adding that for the damage to the life and property caused in Punjab, a package of Rs 1000 crore would not be sufficient.
He also flagged the point that the estimated damage in Punjab is around Rs 1,700 crore, so the Union Government should consider the state’s case sympathetically and grant financial aid to Punjab with big heart.
Applauding the efforts of the Army, NDRF teams and other social organizations who gave rendered service to evacuate the people, the Minister also appealed the general public to stand by the Punjab Government in this hour of distress and donate generously in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to help the flood victims.