Sukhbir Badal flags off 100 trucks of livestock fodder for flood-hit farmers in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar

Chamkaur Sahib, Sep 20 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday flagged off 100 trucks of maize silage for their distribution among flood-hit farmers in Gurdaspur and Jalandhar districts as fodder for livestock.

He announced the party would distribute wheat to 50,000 poor families affected by floods across the state in the next one month to help them get back on their feet.

In a statement, the SAD president said party observers who had visited flood-impacted areas had reported a severe shortage of fodder for livestock, and accordingly, the party had decided to procure maize silage for distribution in the areas affected by the deluge.

He said people from low-income backgrounds had reported that they had been short of rations for the past month due to loss of livelihood. "Accordingly, we have decided to provide wheat to 50,000 families".

Badal also announced that the SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) would each distribute certified seed for one lakh acres of land.

"With the SAD and SGPC taking on the responsibility of distributing certified seed for two lakh acres of land, I appeal to the Punjab government to distribute seed in the remaining two lakh acres of land affected by the floods to cover the entire affected area," said Badal.

He said the Punjab government should also take the responsibility of distributing DAP free of cost to farmers across the affected four lakh acres of land, besides contributing to clearing the land of sand by deputing tractors for this purpose.

Badal said the SAD would provide diesel free of cost for tractors for clearing sand from flooded agricultural land. PTI CHS AMJ AMJ