Sukhbir slams Mann for releasing mere Rs 1.16 cr for flood-affected Ajnala farmers

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday condemned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for releasing only Rs 1.16 crore to the flood-hit Ajnala farmers.

Thanking Akali workers of the Bathinda (Rural) segment for collecting relief material, Sukhbir flagged off trucks carrying 500 quintals of certified seed for farmers in Ajnala. Sukhbir said only Rs 1.16 crore had been awarded for the crop loss suffered on 580 acres of land.

“Every village has 1,500 to 2,000 acres of land, but compensation has been awarded for only 580 acres,” he said. Sukhbir said Rs 5.70 crore compensation, including damage to houses and livestock deaths, had been given to only 631 beneficiaries so far.

The Akali Dal president accused the AAP government of surrendering before the Centre. He said the Centre had proposed an amendment to the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, in order to add two members in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. “We will not allow this to happen as only Punjab and Haryana are part of the BBMB along with the Centre,” said Sukhbir.

In the evening, Sukhbir met the family of deceased IPS officer Y Puran Kumar. He said a case should be registered against all officials named in the dying declaration of the IPS officer.