Fazilka– Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to waive off interest on loans taken by farmers for one year in view of the huge losses suffered by them in the ongoing floods .
The SAD president, who visited flood affected villages in Fazilka and Jalalabad during the course of which he distributed ration as well as fodder for milch animals, said farmers told him that they would not be able to pay their loans and this is why he was requesting the government to at least waive off interest on farmer loans. He said some farmers also told him that they were not being given any compensation for crop losses as their lands were not registered in their names and appealed to the government to ensure compensation was paid to those who were tilling unregistered land along the river beds.
Mr Sukhbir Badal also spoke on the reason why the floods had struck Punjab with so much intensity this year. He said heavy rain had been compounded by the Aam Aadmi Party government’s failure to undertake flood protection works including cleaning of drains before the advent of the monsoons. He said earlier during the tenure of S Parkash Singh Badal flood protection works were undertaken four months before the monsoon season started. He said neither were ‘bundhs’ strengthened nor drains cleaned of silt and weed. He also highlighted now illegal mining along the river beds had weakened the embankments and resulted in fissures and breaches. He also cited how the government had failed to strengthen the Madhopur barrage despite written requests by engineers and how this had resulted in the collapse of one of its gates.
Mr Badal also asked where AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were. “Both these leaders are running the Punjab government but have failed to reach out to the people during a period of crisis. Moreover posters of Kejriwal were pasted across the State with an appeal of ‘ek mauka’ but even though the people gave him an opportunity to serve them he had failed in his duty”
The SAD president rode a tractor to reach marooned villages in heavy rain and interacted with the people besides distributing fodder and ration to them. He also asked the people what they wanted specifically and on the appeal of villagers announced that the SGPC would be requested to conduct medical camps in all affected areas. He said it was unfortunate that both the Congress and AAP governments had ignored the border areas even as he announced that once the SAD government was formed special funds would be allocated for the border areas besides giving reservation in government jobs to border residents.
Mr Badal was received with open arms by Sarpanches and Panches in all the villages he visited with residents telling him that the AAP government or its ministers had done nothing for them till now. Many people told the SAD president with tears in their eyes that he was the first leader to visit them with ration and fodder.
Senior leaders accompanying the SAD president included Jagsir Singh Babbu Jaimal wala, Satinderjit Singh Manta, Ashok Aneja, Gurpal Singh Grewal and Darshan Singh Mothanwala member SGPC