Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 26 : Punjab Legislative Assembly on Friday paid tributes to 59 citizens who lost their lives in the recent devastating floods across the state.
At the outset of the special session of Legislative Assembly, Speaker S Kultar Singh Sandhwan along with all members of the House also observed solemn remembrance for other departed souls, which included Punjab Ex-Minister Harmail Singh Tohra, former MLA Raghubir Singh, Lieutenant Colonel Shaheed Bhanu Pratap Singh Mankotia, ALD Shaheed Daljit Singh, Lance Naik Shaheed Rinku Singh, Lance Naik Shaheed Pritpal Singh, Sepoy Shaheed Harminder Singh, noted actor and comedian Jaswinder Singh Bhalla, renowned music composer Charanjit Ahuja and Ram Prashad Sharma, brother of MLA Ashwani Sharma, whose demise was deeply mourned.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa called the floods in Punjab a man-made disaster.
Speaking about the special session of the Punjab Assembly, he blamed the state government for poor management of dam water release and said the central government's flood relief funds were insufficient.
Speaking to the reporters, Bajwa said, "I want to remind the people of Punjab that the Assembly, the house of democracy, is meant to find a solution to the problems faced by people. Every section of the society in Punjab today is completely unhappy. The people of Punjab, my party and I believe that the Punjab floods were majorly a man-made disaster. The meteorological department had warned for heavy rain in the months of May-June in Punjab. The Central Water Commission controls the dams. Punjab continued to receive Central funds for natural calamities, but why didn't Punjab contribute its share to this amount?"
Bajwa also criticised the special session for lacking discussions like Question Hour and Zero Hour.
"The PM also gave only Rs 1600 crore, that is 8%, to the state. I believe Mann Sahab, Irrigation Minister and Secretary, Irrigation,, are personally responsible. Had they released water gradually, we would not have suffered such losses...Mann sahab should tell what is the outcome of all the special sessions he has called till now...There is no Question Hour and Zero Hour in this special session of the Assembly," Bajwa said.
The Punjab government has decided to convene a special session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly from September 26 to 29, focusing on providing relief to those affected by the recent floods in the state.
According to the flood report as of September 15, 1,98,525 hectares of total crop area have been affected in Punjab with major losses reported in Gurdaspur (40,169 hectares), Patiala (17,690 hectares), Tarn Taran (12,828 hectares), Fazilka (25,182 hectares), Ferozepur (17,257 hectares) and Kapurthala (17,574 hectares), etc.