Bajwa visits flood affected areas of Muktsar, Faridkot

Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa today visited the flood affected areas of Muktsar and Faridkot districts and expressed serious concern over "slackness" in flood relief work.
Accusing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of paying no heed to people's plight, Bajwa said, standing crop in about 1.74 lakh acres was damaged in Muktsar district alone and 236 villages in Malwa are affected, with schools in 60 villages still lying closed.
6.5 lakh acres of standing crop was damaged in whole of Punjab, but the maximum damage is in Muktsar in 1,01,394 acres, Malout 54,520 acres and Gidderbaha 18,600 acres, he said.

Hundreds of houses were damaged in flood-hit areas, he claimed and alleged that the Chief Minister was busy in playing politics and preferred Sangat Darshan programmes, instead of taking care of people.
People in Lambi, Malout, Gidderbaha and Muktsar were waiting for government help even after two weeks of the flash floods, he said.
"The SAD-BJP combine government had earmarked Rs 922.64 crore for irrigation and flood control in the 2012-13 fiscal, which includes 75 per cent central grant. The funds were being misutilised," Bajwa claimed.
The PPCC chief demanded a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre for fully damaged crops and Rs 15,000 per acre for partial damaged crops and said, the state government was giving only Rs 5,000 per acre for fully damaged of crops, out of which the Centre's component is Rs 3,500 per acre.

The state government was contributing only Rs 1,500 per acre, he claimed and also demanded Rs two lakh each of houses demolished in floods.