Chandigarh, September 08 (HS): Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend generous financial assistance to the state’s flood-affected people. Addressing the press at Punjab Bhawan, Goyal appealed to the Prime Minister to announce immediate compensation of at least ₹25,000 crore to cover the widespread destruction caused by recent floods. He further demanded the release of ₹60,000 crore already pending with the Centre.

Goyal noted that while the Prime Minister is expected to visit Punjab 25 days after the flooding, no official statement has yet been made regarding relief for the state. He highlighted that initial assessments indicate total devastation of nearly 4 lakh acres of crops. Although no major breach occurred in the Dhussi bunds maintained by the Water Resources Department, overflow from rivers caused significant damage. Substantial projects for repairing embankments and related structures will need to be initiated once the floodwaters recede, for which large funds are essential.

The minister stressed that Punjab’s road infrastructure has suffered massive setbacks due to washed-out stretches, leading to heavy losses for the Mandi Board. Around 3,300 school and college buildings have been affected, while thousands of electricity poles and submerged transformers have also been damaged. He underlined the urgent requirement of central funding to restore critical infrastructure.

Accusing the Centre of discriminatory treatment toward Punjab, Goyal remarked that other states receive immediate special packages in the wake of natural calamities, but Punjab is still awaiting meaningful financial assistance. He pointed out that while the central government quickly dispatched relief material to earthquake-hit Afghanistan, no aid has yet been sent to Punjab.

Reacting sharply to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s recent remarks blaming illegal mining for Punjab’s floods, Goyal said such baseless statements only add insult to the people’s suffering.

Responding to queries on available resources, Goyal explained that the Punjab government currently has ₹13,000 crore in its Disaster Management Fund, but restrictive central guidelines have prevented its utilization. He urged the Centre to relax these rules, enabling timely relief for the state’s flood victims.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar