The BRICS TimesThe outreach came just a day after CM Mann urged the Centre to release ₹60,000 crore of pending state funds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take stock of the worsening flood situation in the state, shortly after returning from the SCO summit in Delhi.
“Right after landing in the capital, Prime Minister Modi dialed Chief Minister Mann to discuss the impact of the torrential rains and assured full assistance from the Centre,” an official statement said.
Continuous heavy downpour has aggravated Punjab’s flood crisis, with major rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and Ghaggar — flowing above danger levels. According to the state’s latest bulletin, 1,044 villages are inundated, road links have been cut off in several areas, and around 2.56 lakh residents across 12 districts have been affected. Nearly 3 lakh acres of farmland, largely paddy crops, remain submerged. The death toll has reached 29.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also contacted CM Mann and Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to review the situation. Additionally, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced plans to visit Punjab soon to assess agricultural losses.
The conversations follow Mann’s letter to the Prime Minister on Sunday, in which he pressed for the release of ₹60,000 crore owed to the state by the Centre. Mann also requested revisions in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) rules, proposing compensation of at least ₹50,000 per acre for farmers whose fields were destroyed.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall in several districts, forecasting severe conditions through September 3. In response, the Punjab government has ordered all colleges and higher education institutes to remain closed until then.
