Central team visits Punjab to assess flood losses

Chandigarh: A seven-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team led by Union Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary Anuj Sharma met Punjab government officials on Thursday in Mohali.

The purpose of their visit was to assess the damage caused in the wake of floods in several districts.

Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Karanbir Singh Sidhu briefed the team about the devastation caused by the floods besides the post-deluge relief measures undertaken by the state.

He pegged the cumulative losses at Rs 1,219.23 crore.

He said the entire belt of the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi rivers along with Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Ropar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Moga, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts saw large-scale devastation.

Chief Minister's Special Principal Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh briefed the team about the relief and rescue operations carried out by the state government.

Focusing primarily on the farming community, he emphatically put forward the case of the state for financial aid.

He also reiterated that the state would spare no effort to provide assistance to the people.

As per the memorandum submitted to the central team, the estimate of the losses includes Rs 66.07 crore as submitted by the Deputy Commissioners, Rs 5.37 crore as reported by the Power Department, Rs 172.83 crore by the Public Works Department, Rs 38.72 crore by the Rural Development Department, Rs 577.7 crore by the Development Department and Rs 72.64 crore by the Health and Family Welfare Department.