With PM Modi’s Punjab visit, hope floats among flood-hit villagers

Villagers of flood-ravaged Punjab have high expectations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Gurdaspur and Pathankot tomorrow even as security in the two towns and the national highway connecting them has been raised to unprecedented levels.

Apart from Punjab, the PM will also take an aerial tour of Himachal to assess the damage caused by floods and landslides.

The visit comes as Punjab continues to grapple with widespread flooding, causing severe damage to human lives, crops and livestock across multiple areas of the state.

The PM is arriving by a jet in Pathankot. From Pathankot he will fly in a MI-17 chopper to reach Kangra. After conducting an aerial survey, he will fly to Tibri cantonment, 6 km from Gurdaspur, where he is scheduled to preside over a high-level review meeting. After the conclusion of the deliberations, he will fly back to Pathankot for his onward journey to Delhi.

The flood-hit agriculturists are expecting the PM to give a “package big enough to tide over their problems as their houses, crops, livestock and personal belongings have all been destroyed.”

The Punjab government, after a thorough calculation of the situation, has pegged the losses at Rs 13,000 crore.

The PM will be flying over some parts of Punjab, which are barely kilometres away from the International Border (IB) with Pakistan. Security agencies have heaved a sigh of relief following a significant decline in drone incursions by both state and non‑state Pakistani actors after Operation Sindoor. To avert any potential security breaches, multiple agencies are collaborating closely.

Gurdaspur Additional Deputy Commissioner Harjinder Singh Bedi has put a complete ban on all types of drones flying within the boundaries of Gurdaspur. The Pathankot authorities, too, have passed a similar order.

Two central teams have also visited Punjab in recent days to evaluate and assess the situation.