Harsimrat Kaur Badal asks Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh to announce special relief package for Bathinda
Bathinda: Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to announce a special package for Bathinda parliamentary constituency which had borne the brunt of the recent unprecedented rains so that much-needed relief could be given to thousands of farmers, poor and city folks. In a letter to the chief minister, the union minister asked him to intervene personally to mitigate the pain and suffering of the people of Bathinda parliamentary constituency. “Unprecedented rainfall has inundated fields and destroyed paddy and cotton crops at several places. The inundation is so severe that even replanting of paddy and cotton will not be possible due to the time-lapse. Farmers must be adequately compensated for the loss of their standing crops”. The union minister said special girdawari should be done speedily and farmers should be awarded due compensation quickly and should not be made to wait for compensation for inordinate periods as had happened earlier. She said simultaneously efforts should be made to drain fields at the earliest. Mrs. Badal said the poorer sections had been worst hit with their houses suffering extensive damage. “Many people have lost their source of livelihood and don’t have any roof over their heads. The State government needs to give them immediate relief besides taking on the task of rebuilding their houses”. Also Read: Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh conducts aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Patiala and Sangrur Mrs. Badal said even homes of people living in urban areas in Bathinda had developed cracks due to prolonged waterlogging. “For this steps need to be taken to ensure effective drainage besides upgrading drainage system to avoid future problems”. Asserting that the State needed to move quickly to undertake all these tasks, the union minister urged the chief minister to direct the administration to make a simultaneous relief and rehabilitation plan and implement the same without any delay. -PTC News
