Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday visited the flood-hit areas in four constituencies including Banga, Balachaur and Anandpur Sahib and called for providing immediate aid to the distressed people.
The SAD president, who rode a tractor to reach the severely affected villages, said the havoc caused to the farming community was unimaginable. “Paddy has been destroyed in over thousands of acres and farmers are looking towards a bleak future with no time to raise paddy nursery again for transplantation”, he said.
Badal also interacted with the people and listened to their grievances. At Cheta village in Nawanshahr, the locals complained about non-cleaning of the drain in the area, which has added to their miseries. At Rakram Bet village in Balachaur, the people complained of acute shortage of fodder for milch animals.
Badal said the people were looking towards the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to provide immediate relief instead of making meaningless statements. “Rs 5 lakh each should be released to all whose houses have been damaged while farmers should be given an interim relief of Rs 25,000 per acre pending girdwari,” he said.