PM Modi likely to visit Punjab on Sept 9 to assess flood damage; state pegs loss at Rs 13,289 crores
CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Punjab on September 9 to take stock of the flood situation in the state. Meanwhile, the state government has estimated a loss of Rs 13,289 crore due to the floods that have ravaged the state.Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are likely to meet him. Mann is expected to be relieved from the hospital by then.
Sources said PM Modi is expected to conduct an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas, including border districts. However, his official schedule is yet to be announced. After casting his vote for the vice-presidential election on Tuesday, PM Modi is likely to fly to the state and land in Amritsar in the afternoon and hold a review meeting with top ministers and Sources said that yesterday, two central inter-ministerial teams, one headed by Rajesh Gupta of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the other by Santosh Kumar Tiwari of the Ministry of Rural Development, had come to assess the flood situation in the state. The teams held a meeting with the officials of the state delegation, headed by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, and included other administrative secretariesA senior official, on condition of anonymity, said that the extent of damage would be known only after the floodwater recedes. It is expected that the central teams will come back for a fresh assessment once the floodwater recedes.The rural infrastructure has been severely damaged – this includes rural roads, village infrastructure, hospitals and school buildings.
The agriculture department is estimated to suffer a loss of Rs 317 crores, while the loss for the education department is estimated to be Rs 542 crores.Department due to the death of livestock.
According to sources, the estimated losses include about Rs 103 crores in the Power Department, Rs 8 crore in the Higher Education Department, Rs 6 crore each in the Food and Civil Supplies and Water Supply Departments, and Rs 7 crore in the Animal Husbandry De
Sources said that the state government has been demanding a special relief package from the Union Government to compensate people for the loss of property and farming. The state also wants funds for the repair of damaged infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts, flood protection system, and power transmission