Crisis demands bolder response: Rahul writes to PM Modi on Punjab floods

Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging a swift assessment of the devastation caused by floods in Punjab and the announcement of a comprehensive relief package.

Gandhi criticised the Union government’s announcement of Rs 1,600 crore in initial relief, describing it as inadequate.

“The Rs 1,600 crore initial relief announced by the Union government does grave injustice to the people of Punjab. Estimates suggest that the state has suffered a loss of at least 20,000 crore. This crisis demands a bolder response. I request the government to facilitate a quick assessment of the damage and deliver a comprehensive relief package,” Gandhi wrote in his letter.

He said the floods have devastated the agrarian state, with over 4 lakh acres of paddy crop destroyed and more than 10 lakh animals lost. “Lakhs of people, mostly from marginalised communities, have lost their homes,” he claimed.

“The flood has also rendered vast tracts of land uncultivable in the near future. Even today, thousands of acres are submerged and villages remain cut off,” he said.

During his visit to Amritsar and Gurdaspur earlier this week, Gandhi met displaced families and surveyed damaged houses. He said that despite the disaster, he had witnessed resilience and solidarity.

“Despite the gravity of this crisis, I witnessed the very best of humanity. Communities rallied behind those who lost everything. People opened their homes to strangers and shared whatever little they had. Their generosity, and commitment to help, often at great personal risk was admirable.”

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has also said the relief announced is far short of requirements. In an earlier interim report, Punjab put losses at Rs 14,000 crore, with estimates of damage across multiple departments: Rs 1,870 crore for crop loss, around Rs 780 crore loss in health infrastructure, and large sums in roads, power, animal husbandry etc.

The state has asked the Centre to release pending dues of about Rs 60,000 crore, which include compensation for revenue losses since the GST transition (Rs 49,727 crore), reduced rural development/mandi development fund grants (over Rs 8,000 crore), and cancelled rural road (PMGSY) projects worth Rs 828 crore, as per media reports.

Health infrastructure alone has suffered losses of approximately Rs 780 crore, including damage to nearly 1,280 dispensaries, health and wellness centres, 101 community health centres, 31 sub-divisional hospitals, and medicine/medical equipment worth about Rs 130 crore.

State ministers have separately reported severe damage to infrastructure: roads, bridges, and power supply.

Gandhi’s intervention adds to pressure on the Centre to scale up assistance, with both the Congress and the AAP government in Punjab highlighting the gap between assessed losses and the funds released so far.

With PTI inputs