Chandigarh — The Punjab Assembly on Friday began a special session dedicated to discussing the devastating floods that hit the state this monsoon. Speaker Kultar Sandhwan announced that the House would hold deliberations only on floods, with no Question Hour or Zero Hour.
Opening the debate, Irrigation Minister Barinder Goyal described the calamity as unprecedented, even worse than the 1988 floods. He said, “This was a tragedy no one has seen in their lifetime. In 1988, 11.20 lakh cusecs of water entered Punjab, but this time the flow rose to 14.11 lakh cusecs, almost 20 percent more.”
The minister also raised questions about the forecasts of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), saying the state received far more rainfall than predicted. “We depend on IMD estimates, but this time their prediction failed. Added to this, water from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and even Pakistan entered Punjab’s rivers, worsening the crisis,” he said. Goyal is expected to present a formal resolution on the floods later in the session.
Before discussions began, the House paid tributes to several eminent personalities, including former minister Harpal Toor, Punjabi comedian Jaswinder Bhalla, music maestro Charanjit Ahuja, and the victims of the floods.
The special session, which will run from September 26 to 29, comes after floods ravaged 23 districts of Punjab. Official figures show that 2,565 villages and 3.90 lakh people were affected. The disaster claimed 57 lives, while four persons remain missing.
The Punjab government has already declared the state as disaster-hit. The Centre has released ₹1,600 crore in assistance but noted that Punjab still has ₹12,000 crore available under the State Disaster Relief Fund.
