Badal asks for relief from Centre for floods

Chandigarh, Aug 17 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Centre to provide liberal assistance to help the state in providing immediate relief to those affected by floods and rain.

The compensation has been sought for crop damages and loss of property and livestock.

Besides, Mr Badal has also urged the Centre to revise the norms of compensation so as to provide adequate relief from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF). He said relief must not be confused with compensation.

In separate letters to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Water Resources Minister Saif-u-Din Soz, the Chief Minister stated that the torrential rains in Punjab and heavy inflow of water from the hills in neighbouring states had caused substantial damages in eight districts of the state.

These districts are Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Moga, Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Ropar.

A large number of villages of these districts are completely marooned and the standing crop, houses, school buildings, hospital buildings and other community infrastructure had been damaged, uprooting a substantial rural population of the state from their respective homes, the Chief Minister stated. The Army was assisting the civil administration in evacuating the affected persons.

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