(MOREPIC1) Vikram Ditya Sharma/Ferozepur
Hopes of flood-hit families at the Government School relief camp in Bare Ke village turned into disappointment on Wednesday after learning that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s scheduled visit had been cancelled at the last moment. Instead, Water Resources Minister Barinder Goyal arrived to meet the evacuees and review the situation.
Interacting with the media, the minister said that safeguarding people’s lives, belongings, cattle, and other assets remains the state government’s foremost priority. “The government is working day and night to ensure that no affected person faces hardship during this crisis,” he remarked.
(SUBHEAD)However, the mood among the villagers was sombre. Residents of Tendi Wala submitted a memorandum to the minister, pressing for proprietary rights to tillers who have been cultivating land for years without ownership. They also urged the government to strengthen embankments at vulnerable points to prevent further erosion and flooding.
Responding to their concerns, the minister assured that efforts were underway to resolve the land rights issue. On the matter of embankments, he instructed departmental officials to prepare a detailed report once the floodwaters recede and submit it to him.
Drawing a comparison with earlier disasters, Goyal said, “People recall the 1988 and 2023 floods, but the reality is that the present situation has been even more severe. Thankfully, the water level has started receding since yesterday, and we hope normalcy will return soon.” He added that lessons from the floods two years ago had prompted the government to invest Rs. 276 crore in strengthening bandhs in advance, which, according to him, prevented greater destruction this time.
