PM Modi assures support to flood-hit Punjab

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday assured Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh of all support from the Centre in tackling the flood situation arising in the state due to incessant rains.

Prime Minister spoke with Singh on phone and enquired about the flood situation in the state, and assured him of all possible help in mitigating the situation arising out of floods and rains, according to an official spokesperson.

Briefing the Prime Minister, the Punjab Chief Minister said that he had visited the affected districts of Kapurthala and Tarn Taran and there had been significant damage to crops in areas around the Beas River.

Singh further stated that the process of the special girdawari, ordered by him to assess the losses, will commence as soon as the waters recede. He thanked Prime Minister Modi for his assurance and said that he would apprise him of the situation once the girdawai process is completed.

Earlier today, during his visit to Sultanpur Lodhi, the Chief Minister had stated that he would be approaching the Centre for funds for construction of spurs in the River Beas to prevent floods in the future. He had said that these spurs were necessary for protecting the river banks by keeping the flow of water away.

The chief minister had also stated that he would be meeting Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to seek replacement of the existing pontoon bridges in the district with permanent ones.

Three days of heavy downpour in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir have swelled up the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers in Punjab.

Also, the water levels further escalated in Jalandhar after 56,000 cusecs of water were released from Ropar in Sutlej.