'Govt silent spectator on Punjab, Haryana floods'

Cricketer-turned-politician and Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Lok Sabha from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu hit out at the Union government and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda for their inability to provide immediate relief to thousands of people in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sirsa and three other districts of Haryana, who have been affected by the recent flash floods caused by breaches in Satluj Yamuna link cannal and Ghaghar river.

He was addressing a press conference at BJP head quarters in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon. "Out of Rs 75 crore allotted to the state for providing succor to the beleaguered citizens of the state, only a fraction of the amount has been spent so far. The Central government is acting as a silent spectator. No central team has been dispatched to the state to assess the damage. District magistrates who were expected to carry out the job have not visited the flood affected areas," he alleged.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari has formed a two-member committee comprising of Navjot Singh Sidhu and captain Abhimanyu to visit Punjab and Haryana. Captain Abhimanyu presented the report to Gadkari on Thursday morning before jointly addressing mediapersons along with Sidhu.

Sidhu said that normally the moment state administration realises that the water from Himalayas is heading towards Punjab and Haryana, warning is issued to the people. But no such warning was given either by Punjab or Haryana this time around.

Instead, the state governments of Haryana and Punjab started playing the blame game to divert the attention of the media from the real issue.

When a journalist asked why he only singled out at Haryana chief minister and spared Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, Sidhu said the damage in Punjab was comparatively minimal.

Short of demanding the resignation of Badal, he lashed out at the Punjab administration for their failure to provide relief to the affected people in Patiala and other parts of the state.

"Punjab has more then one hundred crore in the coffers for flood relief, but not a penny has been spent so far," Sidhu claimed. "No I am not demanding Prakash Singh Badal's resignation, but he must ensure that the administration reaches out to those who have been affected by the floods. I would like to add that farmers should be given compensation to the tune of Rs 25,000 per acre both in Haryana and Punjab," he said.