Central team in Punjab to assess damage due to recent floods

A seven-member inter-ministerial central team visited Punjab on Thursday to assess the damage caused by floods in various districts of the state last month.

The team led by Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Anuj Sharma met top officials of the Punjab government here to assess the damage caused by recent floods, an official statement said.

Punjab Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Karanbir Singh Sidhu briefed the team about the devastation caused and the post-deluge relief measures undertaken by the state government.

He pegged the cumulative loss at Rs 1,219.23 crore, the statement said.

Sidhu informed the central team about the widespread destruction in the entire belts of the Sutlej, Beas and the Ravi rivers and the districts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Roopnagar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Moga, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran, it added.

Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh briefed the team about the relief and rescue operations carried out as well as the rehabilitation efforts afoot.

Focussing on the farming community in particular, he put forward the case of Punjab for financial aid, the statement said.

Kirpal Singh reiterated that the state government would spare no efforts to provide assistance to the people, it said.

As per the memorandum submitted to the team, the estimate of the losses include Rs 66.07 crore as submitted by the deputy commissioners, Rs 5.37 crore by the Power Department, Rs 172.83 crore by the PWD (B&R), Rs 38.72 crore by the Rural Development Department, Rs 577.7 crore by the Development Department, Rs 72.64 crore by the Health and Family Welfare Department, Rs 57.07 crore by the Local Government Department, Rs 23.45 crore by the Animal Husbandry Department, Rs 202.54 crore by the Water Resources Department and Rs 2.84 crore as reported by the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, the statement said.

Lauding the efforts undertaken by the Punjab government to tackle the aftermath of the floods and provide relief to the affected people and the areas, Anuj Sharma assured all assistance as per the norms.

Following heavy rains and the release of excess water from the Bhakra dam, the Sutlej river and its tributaries had inundated villages in several areas of Punjab, causing extensive damage to crops, especially paddy, and homes in low-lying areas.

People in several Punjab districts, including Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Rupnagar, Moga and Ludhiana, have lost their houses, belongings and standing crops in the recent floods, which are said to be the worst since 1988.

As many as eight people have lost their lives due to heavy rainfall and floods in Punjab, a state government report had said.