Punjab CM Mann visits affected areas in Hoshiarpur amid 'worst floods in recent history'

Tanda (Hoshiarpur), Sep 1 (PTI) With many parts of the state under the grip of severe floods, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said every effort will be made to bail people out in this hour of crisis as the state battles the “worst floods in recent history”.

Mann on Monday visited the flood-affected areas in Hoshiarpur district and interacted with people at a relief camp set up in a government school in Miani, officials said.

During the interaction, he said that natural fury has caused unprecedented damage across the state, but the Punjab government is carrying out operations to rescue and provide relief to the flood-affected people.

“The state government is committed to bailing out people in the flood-ravaged districts. Directions have been issued to evacuate people in the marooned areas and provide immediate relief to them,” the chief minister said.

Asserting that the state government will compensate the people for the “loss of every single penny” incurred by them, Mann said he is regularly monitoring the situation unfolding in the state due to the natural disaster.

Mann also said that he had already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking the release of Rs 60,000 crore of "state funds stuck with the government of India”.

The floods have impacted more than 1,000 villages across the state, affecting lakhs of people, he said.

Heavy rain, coupled with the release of water from dams in the region, has caused extensive flooding in more than 10 districts of the state, Mann said.

The situation is still evolving as there is grave concern that the condition may deteriorate further in the coming days, he added.

At present, about three lakh acres of farmland, primarily paddy fields, are submerged under floodwater, leading to devastating crop losses just weeks before harvest, the chief minister said.

According to the chief minister, there has also been widespread loss of livestock, which is severely impacting the rural households whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on dairy and animal husbandry.

A strong multi-department workforce is working on the ground round-the-clock to complete the relief and rescue work, plugging breaches along the flooded rivers, while medical teams are providing preventive care against diseases in every affected village, he said.

The teams are also undertaking water sampling, outdoor and indoor spray, water chlorination, fever survey, tests for timely detection of malaria and dengue, and distribution of sanitary napkins and mosquito nets, he added.

Likewise, water testing teams are being deployed to check water quality in all the villages to avoid any epidemic outbreak, Mann said.

Besides water, dry ration kits, sugar, rice, wheat flour, ghee, and milk powder are being provided to the people in the marooned villages.

Pumping operations are already in progress on a war footing, Mann said, adding that the inundated villages are being cleared of water.

The chief minister also said that dedicated anti-larva teams are being deployed to detect dengue larvae in the flood-hit villages.

Special teams will visit the villages to train people on the measures to prevent diseases like malaria, dengue, diarrhoea, typhoid and skin problems, he said, adding that veterinary teams will also be deployed for the treatment and vaccination of affected cattle, and deworming of animals. PTI COR CHS ARI ARI