Chandigarh, September 13:
Punjab Education and Information & Public Relations Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains, today urged the Union Government for immediate and substantial support to mitigate the recurring flood devastation in the state, specifically calling for the channelization of the Sarsa and Swan rivers.
In a video message, S. Harjot Singh Bains warmly welcomed Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan, who came to visit the flood-ravaged areas of the Rupnagar district today, while demanding a permanent solution of the recurring flood problem by the channelising of the Sarsa and Swan rivers, a critical project to prevent future catastrophes. He sought the Union Minister’s proactive support in securing the necessary approvals and funding from the Central Government for this vital infrastructure.
Mr. Bains urged Punjab’s BJP leaders to ensure the Union Minister witnesses the true scale of destruction firsthand. “I appeal to them to take Dr. Murugan not just to the main sites, but to villages Khera Kalmot, Bellas, and other severely affected areas, where the poor have lost their meagre belongings. Let him see the reality beyond the formal briefings,” he stated in a video message.
S. Bains also criticized the relief measures, declaring the Rs 1600 crore relief package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “grossly inadequate” against damages amounting to thousands of crores. He highlighted that the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms render the compensation a “mockery of the suffering.”
“The compensation of Rs 6,500 for a partially damaged pucca house and Rs 2,500 for destroyed household essentials is an insult. Can a home be rebuilt with this sum? Is this what our nation offers to those who feed it?” S. Bains questioned. He further challenged the Union Minister to accompany him to the fields of Hariwal and Chandpur Bella to ask farmers if the Rs 6,800 per acre compensation even covers the diesel cost required to clear their ruined crops.
Invoking Punjab’s historic contribution to the nation, S. Harjot Singh Bains said, “Punjab has always been at the forefront of safeguarding and feeding the country. We do not seek charity; we seek our rightful due. I request the Union Minister to see the true picture and report the genuine plight of our people with urgency to the Prime Minister.”
