With the Punjab Government estimating a loss of more than Rs 2,000 crore due to floods caused by three-day incessant rains across the State, an Inter Ministerial Central Team will be visiting the state on September 12 and 13 to assess the situation in the wake of recent floods.
Punjab Government, as per the estimates, had claimed that a whopping Rs 2,000 crore, which includes compensation and damage to the state's infrastructure, was washed away in just 72-hour of incessant rains from August 17 to 19, which left eight dead and more than 13,000 people displaced, affecting crops over 1.72 lakh (1,72,223) acres.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had sought Rs 1000 crore special package from the Central Government to deal with the floods in the state while pegging the preliminary losses at Rs 1700 crore, besides demanding a visit by the central team.
Acceding to his request, the Union Home Ministry has deputed an Inter Ministerial Central Team for a two-day visit to the state for an assessment of the situation in the wake of recent floods.
“The six-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team, led by Joint Secretary (CIS) Ministry of Home Affairs Anuj Sharma, would be visiting Chandigarh on September 12,” said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office.
The spokesperson said that the top brass of Punjab Government would apprise the Central team with regard to the current situation arising out of the recent floods in the state on September 12 (Thursday).
Immediately after this meeting, the team would be visiting Rupnagar and Jalandhar districts to assess the damage caused due to floods, said the spokesperson adding that the team would then visit the flood hit areas of Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts next day on September 13 (Friday).
It may be recalled that the Centre has accepted Capt Amarinder Singh’s request to include Punjab among the states for assessment by the Inter Ministerial Central Team.
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.
A per Government’s report, total of 18 districts were affected by the recent floods after a total of 317.63 mm rainfall lashed all the 22 districts across Punjab for 72 hours.
As many as 13635 people in 554 villages across the State, especially the districts Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Rupnagar, and Moga, were affected by the heavy rains that battered the State, causing overflowing of rivers and leading to floods.
The report says that total eight lives were lost, with maximum five in Ludhiana district. One person each died in Fazilka, Roopnagar (Ropar) and Jalandhar districts. Besides, one person has been reported missing while 12 others have faced serious injuries due to floods.