By IANS,
New Delhi: Emphasising that preventive measures could have saved Punjab and Haryana regions from the ravage of floods, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged Thursday that the floods were “man made” due to the government’s “callous attitude”.
“Punjab and Haryana are not regions new to floods, preventive mechanism is what is needed,” BJP national secretary Navjot Singh Sidhu, known for his one liners, told reporters, adding “better prevent and prepare than repent and repair”.
Addressing the media, BJP national secretary Captain Abhimanyu said: “This is not a natural disaster but a man made disaster and this is primarily because of the callous attitude of the government.”
Sidhu, who is MP from Amritsar, and Abhimanyu visited the flood hit regions of Punjab and Haryana Sunday as part of the team appointed by party chief Nitin Gadkari and presented a report on the flood situation.
Demanding relief measures from the government, Sidhu said: “The BJP demands from the centre to compensate each affected farmer with Rs.25,000, a relief package for the flood-hit areas and also work on a preventive plan.”
However, with no exact figures and data on the exact situation in Punjab, Sidhu, when asked by the reporters, said “details will be available on google”, adding “the damage in Punjab is minimal compared to Haryana”.
Hundreds of villages in Patiala, Ludhiana, Fathegarh Sahib, Mohali, Sangrur and Mansa districts of Punjab were affected in last week’s flooding.
Over 2.5 lakh acres of farm land were affected and lives of over 4 lakh people of 814 Punjab villages disturbed. A total of 1,967 km roads have been damaged.
The BJP is partner in the ruling coalition along with Shiromani Akali Dal in the state.
According to official figures, so far, 33 people have lost their lives in floods in Punjab and Haryana.