Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan visits flood-affected areas of Punjab
Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan visits flood-affected areas of Punjab
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan today visited the flood-affected areas of Punjab. The Union Minister went to Ghonewal village in Amritsar district, Begowal in Kapurthala district, Dharamkot Randhawa village and Behrampur village in Gurdaspur district, interacted with the farmers and inspected the crop losses by stepping into water-filled fields. During the visit, the farmers informed the Union Minister about heavy loss to crops and shared their grievances.
Governor of Punjab Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, also paid a courtesy visit to the Union Minister at Amritsar airport and handed over a detailed report on the floods.
While visiting flood-affected areas, Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the situation is very grim and the crisis is dreadful. Due to the deluge, the crops are submerged and completely destroyed and ruined, and 1,400 villages are completely affected. “Floodwater has inundated the fields here since August 26. The water of Ravi is still flowing into the fields. There is no soil under the feet, only silt, which has accumulated. This crops have been completely destroyed, and there is also a crisis on the next crop. The pain and loss cannot be estimated. It’s heartbreaking to see the situation. But we will definitely bring our farmer brothers and sisters out of this problem. This is challenging, but every possible effort will be made and complete help will be provided to deliver relief,” the Minister said.
The Union Agriculture Minister informed that, on the instructions of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Central Government has sent two high-level teams to Punjab to assess the situation, which include officers from the Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Development, Roads, Energy, Finance, and Jal Shakti. He also said that these teams will visit the affected areas, assess the situation, and submit their report to the Government of India. The Union Minister said the affected people will be consulted to understand the ground situation, and a detailed report will be submitted to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The state government will also conduct its own assessment.
The Union Agriculture Minister said that the whole country is proud of Punjab as the state has always stood as a shield of the nation in times of crisis. “I only want to say that I have come here on the instructions of the Prime Minister, and in this hour of crisis, the government is firmly standing with Punjab, with our farmer brothers and sisters of Punjab, with the people of Punjab. The government will definitely bring the farmers out of this disaster,” Shri Chouhan said.
