Rs 4.50 cr released for flood-hit areas in Punjab

The Punjab government has released Rs 4.50 crore for relief operations in six flood-hit districts of the state, Revenue Minister G S Kangar said on Wednesday.

He said Rs one crore each has been released for worst-affected Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Rupnagar districts, and Rs 50 lakh each for Ludhiana, Moga and Ferozepur districts.

Kangar said the state government had already released Rs 2.10 crore for these districts.

The funds were meant for providing ration, medicines, drinking water, milk powder, fodder for animals and other items, including tents, tarpaulins, to flood-hit people, according to a press release.

The minister said in a meeting of the disaster management group under the chairmanship of the chief secretary on Monday, the deputy commissioners of the affected districts had sought more funds for relief operations.

In consonance with the demand received, funds were released to them for carrying out short-term relief activities, he said.

People in several districts of Punjab have lost their houses, belongings, and standing crops in the recent floods. The state government has estimated that the damage is in the range of Rs 1,700 crore.

State Water Resources Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said 12 breaches in embankments of the Sutlej river were successfully plugged in Ludhiana, Moga and Jalandhar.

The work on plugging the remaining breaches in Jalandhar and Rupnagar was underway on war footing, he said.

Nine breaches at Meowal and Mau Sahib villages in Phillaur sub division, one at Bholewal village in Ludhiana and two at Kishanpura village in Moga district had been plugged, he added.

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 the state, causing extensive damage to crops and homes in low-lying areas.