Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 4 (ANI): Amidst Punjab dealing with severe floods due to heavy rain, Delhi president of Aam Aadmi Party Saurabh Bharadwaj brought relief materials to flood-affected Ajnala village, which is located in Amritsar district, on Thursday.
While bringing relief materials, Bharadwaj said that its team is working hard and claimed that even common people are contributing by extending help. "The team here is working very hard.
Punjab AAP volunteers are working day and night. Whatever is possible is being done...I think even the common people are extending help. This is important because Punjab, Punjabis, and Sikhs have reached out and helped first in places anywhere in the world whenever it was needed," said Bhardwaj.
Earlier, Punjab Education Minister Harbhajan Singh also visited Ajnala and provided relief materials. Meanwhile, due to severe flooding, around 37 lives have been lost due to severe flood, announced the state government on Thursday.
According to the government of Punjab, around 1,655 villages have been affected, with Gurdaspur the most affected area, as 324 villages were impacted by flooding, followed by Ferozepur (111), Amritsar (190), Hoshiarpur (121), Kapurthala (123) and Sangrur (107).
As per the government, around 1,75,216 hectares of total cropland have been affected. But in order to deal with severe floods, the government has stepped up rescue and relief operations across the state.
Punjab Police is using drones to deliver relief to flood-hit villages in Amritsar, trying to reach various affected areas like Ajnala. In other parts of the state, evacuation drives were conducted in villages along the Sutlej, where residents were asked to shift to relief camps established by the government.
It is not only the villages which have been affected by the floods. City dwellers have also been affected.
In the Zirakpur area of S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) district, a wall collapsed at a residential society, leaving people worried, as one resident of the society shared that all the people are worried due to the security threats posed by the wall's collapse.
"I am a resident of Maya Garden Phase 2 apartments, Zirakpur. As you can see, the boundary wall of our society has completely collapsed. Due to this, there is a threat from snakes, stray dogs, and other animals...it also poses a serious security risk.
We are afraid that anyone can enter our homes at any time...outsiders can enter our homes...all of us in society are very worried," a resident told ANI.
Moreover, due to the heavy rainfall, Zirakpur continues to grapple with waterlogging and traffic disruption. (ANI)