CM Mann deploys a gazetted officer each in 1,698 flooded villages

“To ensure direct communication between the administration and those in the flood-hit areas, a gazetted officer has been deputed for each village. This will enable the affected people to share their problems and ensure a prompt and appropriate solution,” Mann said.

He said massive relief-and-rescue operations are going on in the flood-hit areas and the state government has ordered a special “girdawari” to ascertain the losses incurred by people.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal, accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, visited the flood-affected areas in Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district and requested the Centre to help Punjab in this hour of crisis.

Kejriwal was introduced to local leaders from Baupur, Sangra, and Rampur Gauhra by Seechewal, who wanted the flood victims themselves to narrate their ordeal. Before Kejriwal’s arrival in Sangra village, local leaders were ferried there in a boat.

At Sangra, farmer leader Kuldeep Singh presented a memorandum demanding that the Beas must not be turned into a canal with concrete embankments and instead be allowed to retain its natural flow. He stressed that farmers were not encroaching upon the river’s land; rather, the river had encroached into their fields. The memorandum also sought compensation for all affected cultivators according to the actual extent of damage, not restricted to five acres. “Compensation should be given directly to the tiller of the soil,” Kuldeep Singh said.

Kejriwal assured the farmers that their memorandum would be forwarded to CM Mann.

Seechewal, meanwhile, appealed to political parties not to exploit the disaster for political mileage. He also urged NRIs to support the farmers ahead of the wheat sowing season, suggesting help in the form of diesel, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and financial aid.

Releasing the daily bulletin, Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said a total of 1,902 villages in 23 districts have been affected due to the unprecedented floods, impacting a population of more than 3.84 lakh. He said a total of 43 lives have been lost across 14 districts while three persons are missing in Pathankot.

Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, visited flood-hit areas of Tanda in Hoshairpur where he inspected the Rara bridge and reviewed the condition of the ‘Dhussi bundh’. He also visited a relief camp at a government school in village Miani.

Kataria said Punjab was witnessing one of the gravest flood situations in recent memory. “Even in 2023 we had floods, but this time the situation is more severe,” he said, adding, “The Punjab government’s entire team is engaged day and night in rescue and relief work”.