Amarinder surveys flood-affected areas of Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh surveyed the flood-affected areas of Tarn Taran and Kapurthala districts on Wednesday to assess the damage caused by the overflowing Beas river.

Amarinder Singh announced that the special 'girdawari' (survey to assess loss) will be completed at the earliest, paving the way for releasing compensation to the affected farmers. The chief minister announced that compensation would also be provided to the people whose houses had been damaged or for loss of any livestock, an official release said.

Incessant rains in past few days in Punjab had caused damage to crops at several places.

While directing the district officials to closely monitor the situation and ensure timely assistance to the people, Amarinder Singh described the damage to the crops in as "considerable".

The Congress leader, however, said the situation was not as bad as he had envisaged. He said reports of some crop damage have also been received from the districts of Gurdaspur and Amritsar, besides Tarn Taran and Kapurthala.

Allaying farmers' fears that the Food Corporation of India will not procure their produce due to higher moisture content this year, Amarinder Singh said he had already taken up the matter with the authorities concerned. "You will not face any problems in procurement."