SAD chief Sukhbir Badal convenes emergency meeting on Punjab floods

CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has convened an emergency meeting of district presidents and all assembly in-charges on Monday at 2 pm at party headquarters in Chandigarh to discuss the flood situation in Punjab, senior leader and former education minister Daljit Singh Cheema said on Sunday.

In a statement released on Sunday, Cheema said that the party will take feedback from party leaders on the losses suffered by people in different parts of Punjab and will finalise the strategy to help the affected persons in this hour of crisis. He added that already the party cadres are working hard on the ground, but keeping in view the magnitude of the problem, the party will further intensify the efforts after taking ground reports.

Earlier in the day, Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded a Rs 20,000 crore package for flood relief and rehabilitation, besides a complete farm loan waiver for both farmers and ‘khet mazdoor’ to enable them to stand back on their feet, a release said.

Speaking to reporters, on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the State, the SAD president said, “The nation owes it to the brave farmers of Punjab who ushered in the green revolution and made the State the food basket of the country, to stand with them in this hour of crisis. A Rs 20,000 crore package is necessary to compensate farmers for loss of crops and houses as well as relaying of roads and power infrastructure, which the floods have destroyed”.

Sukhbir Badal said the farmers of Punjab had been at the receiving end of the vagaries of nature for the last three years, but had not been given any compensation by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

“The current loss has broken their back. They should be given a comprehensive loan waiver which covers loans taken from banks as well as cooperative societies”.

Badal also disclosed that the SAD had convened an emergency meeting of the party to review the flood situation.

“We have decided to come out with a plan to lift sand which has accumulated in agricultural fields. This involves large-scale earth-moving machinery and volunteers, for whom duties will be put in all flood-affected areas”.

On being asked whether this would be against government norms, Badal said, “Farmers have the right to desilt their fields. I will lead this initiative and am ready to face any action to safeguard the interest of farmers”.

Badal interacted with farmers on the occasion, during which they complained that the AAP government had failed to come to their aid and that they had to conduct the entire bandh strengthening exercise on their own, it stated.

He provided Rs 15 lakh in cash to village committees to conduct relief operations, in addition to 25,000 litres of diesel, for strengthening the Gidderpindi, Darewal, Gatta Mundi, Kasi, and Thammuwal bundhs.

Badal also visited Sanghowal in Nakodar, Meowal in Phillaur and Sasrali in Sahnewal constituency. He visited the bundh sites at all three locations and provided an amount of Rs 10 lakh in cash and 15,000 litres of diesel to conduct earth-moving operations in the three constituencies, the release stated.

Senior leaders accompanying the SAD president at all the sites included Bachittar Singh Kohar, Rajkamal Singh Gill, Baldev Singh Khehra and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon. (ANI)