Chandigarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the flood-affected areas of Punjab on September 9. Ahead of his visit, Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora called on the Prime Minister to immediately release Rs 20,000 crore for the state.
Speaking to reporters, Arora said that the Prime Minister should not return “only after clicking photographs” but must announce a relief package for Punjab, which is reeling under the devastation caused by floods.
He said that over 2,000 villages in 23 districts have been affected, with nearly 4.5 lakh acres of crops damaged and around four dozen people losing their lives. Arora added that the state has suffered losses worth nearly Rs 20,000 crore.
The minister also pointed out that Punjab owes Rs 60,000 crore to the Centre and urged the central government to release the amount on a priority basis to help the state recover.
