The North News
Chandigarh, September 1
Punjab is grappling with its worst floods in half a century, prompting urgent calls for central assistance. Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Member of Parliament from Sangrur, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an immediate relief package of ₹20,000 crore to help the state recover. In his letter, the Aam Aadmi Party MP said the devastating floods have claimed lives, destroyed homes, livestock and farmland, and severely damaged infrastructure. He warned that the crisis could affect the country’s food reserves as large areas of Punjab’s crops were destroyed during the harvest season. Dairy farming and livestock-based livelihoods have also suffered heavy losses.
Meet Hayer further urged the Centre to release pending funds worth ₹60,000 crore for Punjab without delay. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has also appealed to Modi for urgent intervention. “It is now the duty of the Centre to support Punjab, the state that feeds the nation,” Meet Hayer wrote.
The MP highlighted the causes of the flooding, citing heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, which raised water levels in the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers. The Ranjit Sagar Dam rose by 25 feet in ten days, forcing record water releases. Similar discharges from Pong and Bhakra dams inundated villages in Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and districts along the Sutlej. Meanwhile, the Ghaggar River remains on high alert due to persistent rains.
Meet Hayer called for a comprehensive central package that includes compensation for affected families, rebuilding of infrastructure, restoration of irrigation systems and stronger embankments along vulnerable rivers. He suggested raising embankments to a minimum of 4.5 feet to prevent future flooding.
He also urged senior leaders from the Centre to visit Punjab, as Home Minister Amit Shah recently did in Jammu & Kashmir, to assess the scale of destruction firsthand.
