Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday visited several flood-affected areas in Punjab and pointed out the lapses in advanced preparedness to tackle the floods that hit the state. In a statement, the Governor laid the blame squarely on the government for handling the flash floods poorly. During his visit to flood-hit areas, Governor Purohit said that despite getting several alerts from the Metrological Department about heavy downpours, the government had not taken any preventive measures.
The Governor has also set a 15-day deadline to complete the survey on damage caused by the floods and asked the officers to get ready with compensation cheques. “I had already written to the Centre for the flood relief and will write again to the Union government once the assessment of the damages is completed”, the Governor said. “State government worked with coordination of people to deal with the situation of floods in Punjab. Other than the relief camps, People from affected areas had taken shelter in gurudwaras too. I have written to the union government, Whatever help would be required that will be provided by the government.”
In the meantime, a war of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state government and the Governor has been raging for many months. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that the governor was “unnecessarily interfering” in the functioning of the government.
AAP Leader Malwinder Kang also added, “Punjab Governor was interfering in the working of Punjab government for political reasons. The state government is working on the right lines and will handle the situation in the aftermath of floods too. Punjab CM has already taken stock of the situation from flood-affected areas and accordingly, steps are being taken now.”
