Kisan Sabha, Yuva Kalyan Sangthan visit flood-hit villages

A delegation of the All India Kisan Sabha in Bhiwani and the Yuva Kalyan Sangthan visited the flood-affected villages of Biran, Sagwan, Dang and Dhanana in Bhiwani district on Thursday and urged the district administration to take urgent measures to drain out water from the fields and habitation areas.

After visiting the waterlogged areas, the delegation suggested to the district administration and the state government that water from Dhanana and Talu should not be allowed to flow into the fields of Dang village and instead be diverted into the Nigana feeder. They also recommended the backflow in the Nigana feeder be stopped, closing the drains of the water works and draining stagnant water from Sagwan village into the Dadum hills in the Aravalli zone, which is 400 ft deep.

The delegation was led by Comrade Om Prakash, district vice-president of Kisan Sabha and CPI leader, along with Kamal Pradhan, patron of the Yuva Kalyan Sangthan. Former MLA and Congress leader Rao Daan Singh also accompanied the delegation who was informed of the situation during his visit. Singh immediately announced Rs1.61 lakh for flood relief and assured the villagers that he would request the district administration to provide one earthmoving machine and two additional motors.

The delegation demanded that the government and district administration conduct a special ‘girdawari’ and provide compensation of Rs 1 lakh per acre for damaged crops, as well as fair compensation for damaged houses. They further sought Rs 20,000 compensation per affected labourer family and MNREGA employment with wages of Rs 600 per day for 200 days.

The activists criticised the Centre for providing inadequate relief packages to Himachal Pradesh and Punjab while completely ignoring Haryana, calling it an injustice. The delegation also said that the relief announced by the state government was only a “drop in the ocean” and needed to be increased significantly.