Surjewala slams govt for poor flood preparedness

The Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala said Haryana was facing one of the worst flood disasters in recent memory and claimed that the “criminal negligence” of the ruling BJP government had added to the woes of the people.

He alleged that more than 2300 villages were flood-affected, over 27 lives lost, and nearly 1 million acres of crops had been destroyed, yet the government remained unresponsive.

He said major rivers, including the Yamuna, Ghaggar, Markanda, Tangri, and Som-Pathrala, were overflowing, breaching embankments at several locations. The Ghaggar submerged Daddiana and Manakpur in Ambala, while Tangri flooded the industrial area causing losses worth over Rs 1,000 crore, he claimed.

In Jagadhri, 17 colonies went underwater. Roads and highways were blocked due to waterlogging, while multiple breaches occurred in Hisar, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Rohtak, Kurukshetra, and Kaithal, he said.

Surjewala alleged that the farmers had lost standing crops of cotton, paddy, and vegetables. In Hisar villages, annual flooding had made cultivation nearly impossible, destroying thousands of acres and damaging homes.

“Despite the scale of destruction, the Saini government is missing in action. No effective flood-control measures were taken in advance—drain cleaning, embankment strengthening, or pump arrangements were ignored,” he allged, stating that even after the disaster, no NDRF or paramilitary, assistance had been called in.

He said that the affected farmers awaited compensation and demanded Rs 50,000 per acre for crops.