Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asks Planning Commission to assess flood losses

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Planning Commission to send a team for assessing the loss caused in the state due to the floods, besides suggesting measures to avert such natural calamities in future.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the nine flood-affected villages in the district here, the Chief Minister said, "The disaster caused by the floods was a national disaster and it was the responsibility of the entire nation to bail the people out in this hour of crisis."

He said that the Centre must dispatch a high level team of the Planning Commission to tour the flood-ravaged regions of the state and suggest about the precautionary measures to avoid such situation in the future.

Recently, many places in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur that also included several villages along the Indo-Pak border were under floods after heavy rains, causing damage to the property and crops.

Badal said that he would soon take up this matter with the top brass of the Planning Commission so that a timely action could be taken on the issue.

The SAD patron added that the state government would raise the issue of enhancing the amount of relief to the flood victims with the Finance Commission.