He said the flood had caused a lot of damage to the state, but if the Center did not extend any help, the state could manage the disaster on its own. Responding to the opposition’s statement that Rs 218 crore had come from the Centre, Mann said: “That was released only on July 10. The state government cannot spend this amount in 72 hours.” The damage was prevented as we had already taken preventive measures like cleaning of Ghaggar along with other drains and nullahs.
aimed at Zakhar,
Waring, Sukhbir
Hitting out at the three opposition members in one fell swoop, Mann tweeted: “Sunil Jakhar ji, president of the ‘BJP’ unit of the Punjab Congress; King Waring, president of what is left of Congress; And SAD chief Sukhbir Badal ji… At this time, I am busy supporting the people… Let me help them now… Leave the political debate for later.’
After visiting flood-affected Patiala, Mann accused the opposition of unnecessarily leveling allegations against him. CM told the opponents to wait for my answer after a few days, then you will run away from the debate. He said that it is strange that the opposition has resorted to mudslinging in this hour of crisis, which means it is inactive. He said: “Am I responsible if the water goes down the hills? It didn’t rain that much in Punjab, but this heavy downpour from the mountains did the most damage.”
In the affected areas of Sangrur, he said that while his predecessors had taken out helicopters for a cosmetic assessment of the floods, he had stepped into the fields to know the actual ground situation. He added: “The situation is worrying, but we are trying to minimize the damage. Even the advanced countries America and Spain have problems with floods.