Punjab floods: Akali Dal calls for immediate delineation, cleaning of all drains
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal calls for immediate cleaning of drains in flood-affected villages in Punjab; criticizes government's response.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday called for immediate delineation and cleaning of all drains, including those along the Rajpura thermal plant.
He toured flood-affected villages in Rajpura, Ghanaur, Sanaur, Samana and Patiala Rural constituencies and also coordinated relief work being conducted by the SAD and Youth Akali Dal (YAD) workers with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and social organisations.
Talking to newsmen near the Rajpura thermal plant, Sukhbir said: “Villagers complained that more than hundred acres of land were inundated after a natural drain which flows along the thermal plant overflowed. They also disclosed that they had demanded that the water be pumped out from the area but nothing had been done in this regard so far.” He also talked to the deputy commissioner on phone to apprise her of the situation and requested that urgent steps be taken to provide relief to people. “If this is not done in the next two days, then we will take steps to drain out the water ourselves,” he said.
The SAD president said it was also unfortunate that the chief minister’s tour of the area had been cancelled. “Due to this, officers have also not reached this area. The chief minister should visit all flood-affected areas to ensure provision of speedy relief to all affected persons,” he said. He also flayed the government for allegedly not making arrangements to tackle with any untoward situation in advance. “The chief minister also remained busy ferrying AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to other states due to which necessary flood protection steps were not taken”.
Badal also asserted that the AAP government should approach the Centre and ask them to declare the current situation as a natural calamity in order to avail funds under the National Disaster Management Fund. He said in the meantime, the state government should announce a relief package for all displaced persons, those whose houses had been damaged, farmers as well as poor people whose livelihood had been adversely affected by the deluge.
