CHANDIGARH- Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today said that both the centre and the state governments had badly let down the people of Punjab during the devastating natural calamity that has caused devastation worth thousands of crores of rupees.
Addressing a press conference along with senior party leaders at the Congress Bhawan here today, Warring said, while the Chief Minister was hospitalized, the rest of the state government had simply vanished at the time of crisis. “It was the complete failure and incompetence of the Chief Minister as well as his government, both of whom failed the people, when they needed them the most”, he observed, while remarking, “they failed the people before the crisis, during the crisis and after the crisis even till now”.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s Rs 1600 crore flood relief package, he reiterated this was nothing as compared to the great losses caused in the state. He also disputed the PM’s claims about Rs 12, 000 crore Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), saying there was nothing special about it as it was provided to the states as a matter of routine.
He noted that the Punjab government was not left even with a penny from this fund as it had apparently diverted it to some other heads like paying of salaries to its staff since it has gone almost bankrupt.
Warring said that by trying to club the Rs 12, 000 DRF amount with the relief he announced, the Prime Minister had tried to wriggle out of the situation as he also knew that the relief he was providing to Punjab was too little and too less.
Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa said that the Rs 1600 crore that Prime Minister Modi announced as relief was mere 8 percent of the total estimated loss faced by Punjab due to the flood devastation.
Reiterating his charge that the floods in Punjab were a “manmade disaster”, Warring disclosed that the Bhakra Beas Management Board released the water quietly when the level had risen to 1678 feet. He said, if the water had been regulated in the dam properly keeping in view the past history and the weather forecast, the damage in Punjab would have been just about 25 percent of what happened now.
He observed, since there was a forecast of about 105 percent of rains, above normal, the water in the dam could have been released gradually in a phased manner well in advance. “Why did they need to wait for the water level to rise to 1678 feet and then release it quietly without informing anyone?” he asked, while substantiating his charge that it was a man-made disaster.
The PCC president saluted the courage and the spirit of the Punjabis in fighting against this natural calamity. He said, while the government was not seen anywhere, various NGOs, sportsperson, singers and others took the lead to help and support people.
He also thanked the party leaders including the Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and others who led from the front in standing with people during this calamity.
He said, the Congress has formed teams for different areas right up to the block level, which will remain on the ground till the last wheat seed is sown. He said the wheat sowing might face some problems due to the dampness of the soil. He said the Congress will try to help the farmers in every possible way.
Among those present at the press conference included Dr Amar Singh, Sukh Sarkaria, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Gurkirat Kotli and Capt Sandeep Sandhu.