Badal demands Rs 5 lakh compensation for rain-hit victims

Chandigarh, July 9   Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday demanded compensation of Rs five lakh each for people whose houses have been damaged due to incessant rain and flood waters.

He also called for an advance compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre for all farmers whose crops have been destroyed.

He said simultaneous girdwari should be done to assess the loss to crops.

Expressing shock at the havoc and misery caused to people due to the deluge, the SAD president said it was condemnable that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had been caught napping and people had been left to their fate.

In a statement here, Badal said there were widespread reports of damage to property in Mohali, Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar districts with crops being damaged across thousands of acres.

These include paddy which was transplanted recently besides vegetable crops.

“Hundreds of people have been forced to camp on roads after the rainwater entered their houses in Mohali, Ropar and Anandpur Sahib. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has done a commendable job by providing ‘langar’ to poor people who are camping on roads as well as those who have been marooned by the flood waters. The civil administration is yet to come to reach the people.”

Badal said the AAP government should also approach the central government immediately to declare the situation as a natural calamity in order to avail funds under the National Disaster Management Fund.

He also called for dispatch of fodder for milch animals to all villages which had been flooded besides medical teams to tackle spread of diseases.

The SAD president also condemned the government for failing to make adequate drainage facilities which had compounded the problem.

“This is indicative of a large-scale corruption.”

He also called for taking effective steps to ensure drainage of water as well as establishment of flood control rooms and helplines so that people could approach the authorities for help immediately in case of any emergency.

Badal said while the SGPC had stepped in with ‘langar’ sewa he had also directed the Youth Akali Dal (YAD) to assist distressed people immediately.

“YAD president Sarabjeet Singh Jhinjher is already in the flood-sffected areas and I urge Akali workers to also assist their affected brethren immediately,” the SAD President added.

--IANS