Amritsar MP Aujla writes to PM Modi, demands relief package for Punjab

Lok Sabha MP from Amritsar and senior Congress leader Gurjeet Singh Aujla has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the unprecedented floods in Punjab. Describing the seriousness of the situation in the letter, Aujla said Punjab, especially Amritsar border areas, is facing large-scale devastation. “Continuous torrential rains and fast water from mountainous areas have submerged low-lying areas, leaving thousands of families homeless and destroying the standing crops of farmers,” he states in the letter.

MP Aujla has expressed displeasure in the letter that his earlier appeals were ignored. He wrote: “I want to say with controlled anger and extreme disappointment that my appeals were ignored. Punjab is in crisis and silence cannot be tolerated anymore.” He urged the Prime Minister to personally visit Punjab and send a high-level team from the Centre immediately so that the real situation can be assessed. Aujla said the deployment of NDRF teams alone will not solve the problem, but there is an urgent need for a special relief package so that the affected families can get help and Punjab can move forward towards reconstruction.

In the letter, Aujla also wrote that the importance of Amritsar is not limited to being just a border district, but it is also an important centre of food security and grain storage of the country. “The devastation caused by the floods has caused huge losses to farmers and this situation can affect the food supply of the entire country,” he said. The MP also described this crisis as very important from the national security and strategic point of view. He said Amritsar has always stood at the forefront for the security of India. “But today when Punjab is facing a huge disaster like floods, the silence of the Centre is unacceptable. It is unacceptable that the border that protects India is left alone in these difficult times,” he wrote.

Aujla demanded immediate presence and concrete steps from the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, MP Aujla is constantly visiting the flood affected areas and distributing relief material by forming his own teams. He said he is trying to provide relief to people from his “Daswand” (10% of one’s earnings) and will continue to try for the rehabilitation of the affected people even after the water recedes.

Amritsar