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Punjab’s wish list ready as PM Modi arrives to review flood situation today
PM Modi is likely to meet affected farmers and hold a meeting with Punjab government officials at the Cantonment for nearly one hour.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to flood-ravaged areas in Punjab on Tuesday, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) again reiterated the demand that he announce a relief package of ₹20,000 crore for the border state. Punjab is currently facing one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The death toll due to the devastating floods stands at 51, while crops over 1.84 lakh hectares have been damaged.
As per the schedule, Modi is likely to take stock of flood-hit areas in the northern region, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab on September 9.
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Modi is slated to arrive at Pathankot airbase, and from there, he will first visit Himachal Pradesh and then arrive at Tibri Cantonment in Gurdaspur at around 3:45 pm while taking an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas.
The Prime Minister is also likely to meet affected farmers and hold a meeting with Punjab government officials at the Cantonment for nearly one hour before leaving for Pathankot.
While Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu will accompany the PM in this tour from the national capital, Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria and state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar will meet Modi first at Pathankot and then later at Tibri cantonment.
It is learnt that chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who is admitted to a hospital in Mohali, is unlikely to meet the PM and has deputed a group of three ministers to meet Modi.
In a post on X, CM Mann welcomed the PM and hoped that the state would be duly compensated for the losses caused by the flooding.
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“I am not well, otherwise I would have accompanied you during his visit to the flood-affected areas. I hope that the Prime Minister will announce compensation for Punjab and Punjabis for the losses caused by this natural disaster,” Mann said in his post on X.
On Monday, three cabinet ministers, Aman Arora, Varinder Goyal and Dr Balbir Singh, held press conferences giving details of the damage caused by floods. The ministers again reiterated the state government’s demand for a ₹20,000 crore relief package.
“We welcome the Prime Minister, but mere ‘flood tourism’ won’t suffice in addressing the state’s dire situation, which the state BJP leadership and Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have already overexploited in the photo ops. The PM must come with a ₹20,000 crore package if he considers Punjab an integral part of India,” said AAP state chief and renewable energy minister Aman Arora.
He also reiterated the immediate release of ₹60,000 crore of pending funds, including ₹50,000 crore in revenue losses due to the implementation of the GST regime and ₹8,000 crore withheld in the Rural Development Fund (RDF) and Market Development Fund (MDF) for the past three and a half years.
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Revenue minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said that according to reports from 15 districts, over 3.87 lakh people have been affected and human fatalities have risen to 51, with three more deaths recorded during the past 24 hours, each in Mansa, Moga and Patiala districts.
“The crops over 1.84 lakh hectares (4.53 lakh acres) have been damaged/ affected by floods,” Mundian said, adding that damage to houses and livestock continues to be assessed, and the full extent will be available once floodwaters recede.
A total of 23,015 persons have been safely evacuated, and 123 relief camps are operational, sheltering 5,416 persons.
The Punjab BJP has also pinned high hopes on the Prime Minister announcing a relief package for the state in this hour of crisis.
“The Prime Minister is deeply concerned about the flood situation in Punjab and is closely monitoring it. He is visiting Punjab to personally assess the local conditions and understand the ground realities to provide maximum assistance to the people of Punjab,” Jakhar said.
Union minister Chouhan, during his visit to Punjab last week, acknowledged devastation caused by the floods to crops and farmland.
The central government teams, after visiting the flood-hit areas on Saturday, met with top Punjab government functionaries.
According to the Punjab government estimates, floods have caused damage worth ₹13,500 crore to the agriculture sector along with rural infrastructure in multiple districts.
The estimates also include an immediate compensation of ₹1,900 crore for farmers whose standing crops were inundated.
According to the preliminary departmental estimates, the rural development and panchayati raj department has pegged losses at ₹5,400 crore, pointing to the destruction of rural infrastructure, including link roads, culverts, water channels and drainage systems.
