Punjab CM writes to PM Modi, demands Rs1,000cr flood relief package
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh also urged PM Modi to instruct the authorities concerned to waive crop loans of banks/financial institutions availed by the affected farmers during the current cropping season.
Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Rs 1,000-crore special package to address the losses resulting from flooding in the state.
The CM also urged the PM to instruct the authorities concerned to waive crop loans of banks/financial institutions availed by the affected farmers during the current cropping season.
The flooding in Sutlej due to the discharge of water from Bhakra Dam, the heaviest since 1958, had caused extensive damage to the standing crops and inundation of residential areas in the villages, said the CM, adding that an early estimated suggested the damage to be to the extent of Rs 1,700 crore.
Realising the gravity of the situation, the state government had declared it a natural calamity in the affected areas, said the CM, adding that though necessary assistance was given by the army, the floods in river Sutlej had severely damaged standing crops, houses and other rural and urban infrastructure at many places, especially in the districts of Rupnagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Kapurthala covering over 100 villages.
The CM said he had instructed state government officials to prepare the required memorandum for special package for consideration of Government of India in due course.
The request from the chief minister came amid reports that 326 villages across the state had been adversely impacted, with loss of standing crops on nearly 1.2 lakh acres of area submerged under water.