Farmers demand relief, rehabilitation from Centre, Punjab govt

In the wake of the catastrophic floods that have ravaged large parts of Punjab, leaving behind a trail of destruction that has devastated lives, livelihoods and entire communities, farmers, among the hardest hit, have suffered extensive losses to crops, land, livestock and homes. In response, they are demanding urgent compensation and rehabilitation from both state and Central governments. Protests led by farmer unions have intensified, with calls to declare the floods a national disaster and release of emergency relief funds.

Harinder Singh Lakhowal, state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal), and Avtar Singh Mehlon, patron of BKU Punjab, alleged that the recent floods devastating Punjab were not natural calamities, but the result of a calculated political conspiracy.

The leaders claimed that while cloudbursts occurred in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, timely action by the authorities concerned — such as maintaining 25-30% empty capacity in dams — could have prevented the scale of destruction in Punjab. They accused the Central and state governments of deliberately neglecting flood preparedness, asserting that the disaster was orchestrated to punish Punjab for its resistance to anti-farmer policies.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) staged a protest today outside the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner’s office, demanding immediate compensation and rehabilitation for affected farmers and residents. The union submitted a memorandum through the DC to both Punjab and Central governments, urging swift and comprehensive action.

“We call for the floods to be officially declared a national disaster, with the immediate release of funds from the NDRF to accelerate large-scale relief operations,” said district general secretary Sudagar Singh Ghudani.