Central team visits flood-affected areas of Mohali, Patiala in Punjab

PTI

Chandigarh, August 8

A seven-member inter-ministerial central team on Tuesday visited flood-affected areas of Mohali and Patiala districts of Punjab to assess the damage caused by it, officials said.

The team led by Ravinesh Kumar, financial advisor, National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) visited several flood-hit areas.

Several parts of Punjab were affected by the heavy downpour in the state between July 9 and July 11, flooding vast expanse of agricultural fields and other areas, besides paralysing normal life.

The inter-ministerial team first went to Mohali where it visited Dehar, Alamgir, Tiwana, Khajur Mandi and Sarasini areas of Derabassi sub-division to take stock of the devastation caused by the Ghaggar river.

The central team took the details about the damage from local officials. Flood-affected farmers also gave details about their crop damage and demanded compensation for it.

Krishna Kumar, principal secretary, Punjab water resources department, spoke about the widespread damage caused by the floods in the state and also apprised the team about the relief work carried out by the state government.

During an interaction with the central team, Mohali Deputy Commissioner (DC) Aashika Jain gave detailed information about the damage caused by Ghaggar river in the district.

The DC said due to several breaches in embankments along the Ghaggar river, several feet of thick layer of silt has been deposited in hundreds of acres of fields. In many places, fields and soil have been washed away due to a change in the course of the river, turning them into ditches which will require labour and finance to make them cultivable again, the DC said.

The DC added that silt has deposited over 659 acres of land in the area.

She said Derabassi and Kharar sub-divisions were more affected in the floods.

Later, the team visited flood-hit areas of Patiala district.

In Patiala, the team visited several areas, including Rohar Jagir, Badshahpur, Rampur Parta in Patiala and spoke to farmers and other people affected by the flood.

Patiala DC Sakshi Sawhney gave detailed information about the damage caused in the district.

Speaking to reporters in Patiala, Ravinesh Kumar, who led the team, said the team will assess the damage caused by the floods and will submit a report on it.

The central team will visit flood-hit areas of Rupnagar and Jalandhar on Wednesday.

The Punjab government had earlier estimated a loss of Rs 1,500 crore because of floods in the state.  

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