Delhi CM announces Rs 5 crore financial help for flood-hit Punjab

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday announced a financial aid of Rs five crore to Punjab, saying her government is ready to provide any other assistance needed by the flood hit state.

Gupta said that she talked to her Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and told him that Delhi stands shoulder to shoulder with the state and is ready to extend any help needed to deal with the situation due to the floods.

“We are announcing Rs 5 crore assistance from Delhi government to the Punjab CM relief fund and wish the state to recover from the critical situation and its people being able to resume their normal life,” the chief minister said.

Punjab is currently facing one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The floods are a result of swollen rivers, the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

A total of 43 people have lost their lives across 14 districts of the state from August 1 to September 4.

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Punjab Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Friday said that 21,929 people have been evacuated from marooned areas so far, while 196 relief camps have been set up where 7,108 affected people have taken shelter.

Overall, 1.72 lakh hectares of farmland have been damaged across 18 districts of the state.